Santoryu no Ryuuma
by axellon2008
Summary: Having members of his clan take care of him, Naruto's life takes a different turn. He strives for a different dream and learns to use a unique style of swordsmanship as well as other techniques to help him along the way. Elements of One Piece. HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

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Chapter I: What have I gotten myself into

A man was walking along a dirt road surrounded by large trees. His long wavy silver hair swayed in the slight breeze and the sun's rays washed down upon him. Just about anyone would say that he was oddly dressed.

He had an yellowish orange colored buttoned shirt and brown spotted, greenish shorts. His fashion statement was completed with a white hooded cloak with a green lining. As for his facial appearance, he wore rounded frame-less glasses which partially hid a vertical scar over his right eye and had a silver beard arranged in a stripe-like pattern across his lower jaw. His skin was rather tanned and he had large muscles on his neck and shoulders which were visible.

His name was Rayleigh and he used the surname Silvers, but many decades previously it had been Uzumaki and his silver hair had been red. The few people that knew him would be surprised at his current serious demeanor and sad face. He was known for being a light hearted and fun loving person. Today was not one of those days, and this week had started out rather bad. He was trying to enjoy his retirement when he overheard that the Kyuubi had 'attacked' Konoha and been 'defeated' by the Yondaime. It had been nearly a year since he had visited Konoha and the only reason he had visited was to see Uzumaki Kushina as no one else in Konoha held any interest to him anymore.

Rayleigh was one of only a handful of people that knew Kushina was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and one of an even a fewer numbered group that knew she was the second Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. When he was a genin in Uzushiogakure, Uzumaki Mito had been his jonin sensei. After she was married to the first Hokage, and became the first Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, he had always visited her regularly as did the other surviving member of his genin team. The third member had perished during the second shinobi war. Rayleigh could never forget that day and after Mito's passing, Kushina inheriting her 'burden.' Rayleigh had checked in on Kushina every now and then. It was nice knowing that there was someone left of their village and clan, who would pass on their knowledge to a future generation.

He had never had children and neither did his teammate. His sensei had a child but because of the Kyuubi, their Uzumaki heritage was mostly covered up and any teachings that were from Uzushiogakure were passed off as being that of the Senju clan. Even the last remaining relative of his deceased sensei, Senju Tsunade, had no idea her grandmother was from a different village or that the diamond shaped seal on her forehead was based off of fuinjutsu from Uzushio.

Kushina was the last person left who would be able to pass on that knowledge to any future children, but now he knew that she was dead. The Kyuubi had somehow been released and another Uzumaki had left the world. Her husband the Yondaime was also dead and he had the feeling that the Kyuubi was not defeated as the rumors had said. He was now on his way to Konoha to find out exactly what happened.

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Inside Konoha

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"Wheeeeew." Rayleigh whistled at the sight of large hole in the defensive wall that surrounded the leaf village. A four hundred foot section was almost finished being rebuilt by dozens of workers and there was also damage to a small portion of the village. It had been nearly two weeks since the the Kyuubi attack and they were just about finished with the wall and buildings.

'I can't believe in all the years I have been breaking into this village that they have never once bothered to change the access code to the barrier that is supposed to protect the village from intruders'. Thought Rayleigh idly while shaking his head. It had been easier to sneak into the village this time because of the damage to the wall and the distracted ninja but he had never had a problem breaking in at any other time previously. Even during two ninja wars, he had managed to sneak into the hidden leaf village.

'Now I better find out what exactly happened.' were the thoughts going through Rayleigh's head as he made his way to the Hokage tower.

He didn't bother trying to hide his face or take any backstreets to the tower, instead he made his way down the main street straight to the tall red building. There was once a time when he had been known as an exceptional shinobi and his team were known to be quite skilled. They never had summoning contracts like the Densetsu no Sannin but he knew that his team, in their prime, could go head to head with the three legendary ninja without their large summons. Those days had passed though, and he wasn't even in a bingo book anymore. Only a handful of people in the village would even recognize him.

As Rayleigh walked down the dirt road with and against a steady stream of people, he noticed that the ninja were still wearing the symbol of Uzushiogakure on the village standard uniform. This actually made him rather sad and annoyed. Sad because of the feeling it brought up and annoyed because they were wearing it in the first place. Konoha and Uzushio had been allies and after the loss of his village and Mito's passing, Sarutobi had placed the symbol on the leaf's ninja uniform in remembrance to the alliance but now it had no real meaning. The people wearing those uniforms had no idea of it's significance for Konoha or Uzushio and only wore it because it was sold on the standard uniform. They wore the symbol of his once great village in complete ignorance.

To Rayleigh, that symbol had great deal of meaning and it seemed rather insulting for them to wear it so brazenly without knowing anything about it or what it stood for. No one probably even mentioned it at the village ninja academy or the significance of it in the leaf villages symbol worn on their forehead protectors. 'Just something else that has been lost to the passage of time. Sometimes the longevity of those from Uzushio can be more of a curse than a gift.' Rayleigh thought sadly and continued on while ignoring the crowds.

Had he been paying more attention to the voices, he would have heard talk of a certain baby as well as talk about the Yondaime, demons, monsters, revenge, and the Kyuubi.

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Hokage Tower

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"I'd like to speak to the monkey in charge of this place." Rayleigh said to the secretary in a serious tone but with a faint hint of a smile on his lips.

The poor women looked up at him from her paperwork and said rather indignantly, "Excuse me."

"I said, I'd like to speak to the monkey they have running this place. It's rather important. Could you point me in the direction of his cage so that I can talk with him." repeated Rayleigh in a higher voice and having a harder time holding back his smile. He could sense Sarutobi in the Hokage's office and he decided to take a break from his sad demeanor to have a laugh to brighten things up. He could easily sense the hidden ANBU who were getting ready to pounce should anything happen.

The secretaries mouth just seemed to open and close without a words coming out. She really didn't know how to respond, and dealing with crazies wasn't in her job description. She was about to signal to the ANBU when the door to the Hokage's office opened.

"It's no problem Aiko-san, I'll fit him into my schedule." Came the deep and annoyed voice of the Sandaime Hokage. The ANBU relaxed the Rayleigh calmly walked into the office and shut the door. The newly named secretary, Aiko, just sighed and got back to her work.

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Hokage's Office

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"I have a feeling that I know why you are here." said the Hokage to his guest as he offered a chair to the man and sat himself down in his chair behind his desk.

"Your cage hasn't changed much since the last time I saw you here, and I see they've even given you a fresh supply of paperwork." replied Rayleigh in a jovial voice while smiling and inspecting the room. The Hokage merely sweat-dropped.

Rayleigh's smile ended and he became serious as he saw the Hokage was in no mood for any banter. "I'd like to know what happened and I don't want some shortened story to keep me from finding out the rest while keeping the real version of events to yourself?" said Rayleigh in a serious tone.

The Hokage's frown increased and he knew that the man in front of him had lived long enough to possibly determine if he was telling the whole truth or just a modified version to keep him from prying any further.

"I don't completely know what happened but the Kyuubi managed to escape from Kushina and appeared at the walls of the village. I know that at one point the Kyuubi was being controlled but I have no idea by who. Minato managed to transport it away from the village where he used the dead demon consuming seal to stop the Kyuubi. " replied the Hokage. Rayleigh's eyes widened at the mention of the jutsu used as it was a powerful kinjutsu.

"Why did Kushina's seal fail and where is the Kyuubi?" was Rayleigh's next question.

The Hokage sighed as he knew the man was not going to accept anything less than the absolute truth. "The seal was weakened and I told you what happened to the Kyuubi."

"So Kushina was pregnant?" was the surprised response to the Hokage's explanation and Sandaime winced slightly as Rayleigh obviously knew far more about the seal than he had anticipated, as the seal would only weaken during a pregnancy when giving birth.

"Yes she was pregnant and taken outside the village along with my wife, the Yondaime, a nurse, and three trusted ANBU to give birth to her child. They were protected with the most powerful barrier we have but someone managed to get through. We found the guards, the nurse, and...and my wife all dead." the Hokage said in an unsteady voice.

Rayleigh nodded and gave his condolences to the Hokage for his loss. "So Kushina perished when the Kyuubi was removed and the Yondaime perished while sealing the Kyuubi." he received a nod from the Hokage and continued, "Where is the Kyuubi?" asked Rayleigh in a serious tone.

The Sandaime answered, "As I already said, the Kyuubi was sealed by Minato with the dead demon consuming seal." Rayleigh eyed the Hokage and tried to determine whether this was the whole truth or another of Sarutobi's half truths.

"What of the child? Did he survive?" asked Rayleigh in a slightly strained voice.

The Hokage mentally sighed as he had managed to not give away too much information and answered, "Yes, he is fine. Minato and Kushina decided to call him Naruto and he is registered under Kushina surname for safety reasons. Since he doesn't have any family he was placed in the orphanage."

Rayleigh thought about this, 'He doesn't have anyone else and he is Kushina's child. I always made sure to stop and see Kushina once in a while just to make sure she was alright. We weren't exactly immediate family but we are both apart of the same clan...My retirement isn't exactly what I pictured it to be...but I'm really too old to look after a child...There's no one else to teach him...but I know more about his Uzumaki heritage than almost anyone else alive in the elemental countries...Kushina would have taught him our fuinjutsu but she didn't know any of the other jutsu and secret techniques of our village...I've mastered them all...I could teach him. I may not have very many years left but I can still teach him all that I can...that way Uzushio and the Uzumaki clan won't be completely forgotten. I've sought out other survivors but none of them have any ambitions to become a ninja or for their children to become ninja. He's the last of our clan left.' were some of the many thoughts running through the silver haired man's mind.

Thus far, the life of Silvers Rayleigh had been a good one but he had many regrets. He couldn't save his teammate and he couldn't stop the destruction of his village. He had drifted apart from his surviving teammate and only stopped by to see her once or twice a year. He never had a family or any children and the few students he taught had perished with the destruction of the village. Now one of the last surviving members of his village was gone, and Uzushio would probably be completely forgotten. He doubted he had a decade left in his long life span but he would try. "So he doesn't have any left to take care of him?" he asked the Hokage.

The Hokage realized where this might be going and he tried to change the man's mind. "Are you sure you should be even considering taking care of child at your age. I can't even image how difficult it would be to try that again and I'm younger than you." the Hokage said while trying to give a kind smile.

Rayleigh on the other hand could tell the smile was fake and decided to push farther. "Oh I'll be fine, I'm sure I can find or hire someone to help me until he is out of diapers we can just say that I am his godfather or something." replied Rayleigh with a real smile on his face and losing much of his previous melancholy.

"I really don't..." but the Hokage was cut off by a piercing stare from Rayleigh. "What aren't you telling me Sarutobi?" interrupted Rayleigh. In all the time he had met the older silver haired man he had never been able to shake off or deal with the man's stare when he was being completely serious. The man' eyes could go from enthusiasm and happiness to a set of sharp kunai in an instant. He had even witnessed the man knock out chunin and jonin with just his stare; in something which resembled the temporary paralysis technique except it put them unconscious for a couple of hours and did not just hinder their movements.

It was this intense stare that the Hokage was now trying to deal with and was actually failing. "He already has a godfather." was all that the Sandaime managed to get out and even then he really didn't want to tell the man that much.

Rayleigh's eyes narrowed and he asked, "Where is this person and why aren't they taking care of him then?" Rayleigh did release his stare and let the Hokage talk.

"Minato and Kushina made Jiraiya the boys godfather. Jiraiya already came to the village and left. I don't think he is coming back anytime soon after the death of his student. He didn't even show up the funeral. Though he was never one to show up at funerals anyway." replied the Hokage. He was starting to get frustrated with having to reveal this information to someone who was not part of the village and did not need to know.

"So that perverted student of yours ran away." Rayleigh said and frowned. "I don't see what this has to do with anything. There's something else your not telling me?...So Minato didn't seal the Kyuubi away completely and sealed the rest in his son." said Rayleigh sadly as his mind put together what must have happened. "Did you really think I would care about that. I'm still willing to take care of the boy regardless of the Kyuubi. It would be better if I did take care of him considering I have the most experience with seals than anyone else in the village now and know more about that seal in particular than anyone else in the elemental countries."

Sarutobi winced and Rayleigh knew that there was more. "I can't let you take care of him or anyone take care of him for that matter, it was an agreement by the shinobi council. Every shinobi clan fought over how the boy should be taken care of and that was the final decision; that he should be placed into the orphanage and be put into the ninja academy when he reaches the required age." said the Sandaime.

Rayleigh looked rather confused at this revaluation. "I thought only the Hokage and the village elders were to know about the Kyuubi being sealed. You told the all the clan heads!" asked Rayleigh and his voiced raised on the last sentence.

Sarutobi sighed heavily and looked down while refusing to meet the eyes of the other person in the room. He finally spoke moments later. "I decided that after the attack, the village deserved to know about the sealing and how the Yondaime died."

"**You told the whole village!**" Rayleigh said in a deadly voice and both his chakra and killing intent flared up.

"**What's the matter with you Sarutobi, have you gone senile! You just decided to tell the entire village about the Kyuubi being sealed into the boy and broke a secret that has been kept for longer than you have been alive! It was made secret to protect the Jinchuuriki from inside and outside threats and you just decided to throw that to the wind! **Shouted Rayleigh even more intensely than before.

"I had no idea that the villagers would act the way that they did! I thought they would welcome him as a hero like the Yondaime wanted. I didn't know that they would call for his death." replied the Hokage.

If anything, this actually made Rayleigh even more angry. Rayleigh didn't move from his spot or show any emotion on his face. He had tilted his head so that his glasses hid his eyes but the Hokage could still feel the anger and killing intent radiating from the man. The Hokage contemplated calling for his ANBU but would try to diffuse the situation first.

"The council decided it would be best to put the boy in the orphanage, which was better than the alternatives. I don't like it anymore than you but I can't look after the boy myself and I can't let you look after him, no matter how much I want to. Naruto will be fine in the orphanage. After he has become a ninja I will inform him of his burden and after he has graduated to the rank to jonin, I will tell him of his parents." the Hokage said while trying to discern any reaction from the man in front of him.

The room was thick with tension. The ANBU arrived in the room and were ready to attack with weapons drawn. Reinforcements would arrive shortly. The Hokage was ready to fight if necessary but hoped that Rayleigh would calm down and accept the situation.

It was a few tense moments before Rayleigh spoke in a calm but deadly tone. "_That's not good enough. You're a fool Sarutobi_. _That fact has become more apparent with age it seems. While you have doomed the boy to a terrible life within the village, I won't accept it. It would be too difficult to take the boy outside of the village because you will come after me, but that doesn't mean that I won't look after the boy inside of the village. I am not a ninja of Konoha, or citizen of the village, and I won't be following the decrees of a inept old man and a council of idiots anytime soon_."

As soon as Rayleigh finished, the ANBU attacked and in the moment before they struck he looked up and narrowed his eyes. The result of this simple gesture was not what anyone was expecting. The ANBU that were about to strike him were blown back by a force and was produced by the man. It was some kind of technique that faintly resembled that of a wind jutsu and had an overpowering effect on those present. They collapsed on the floor in a heap and were completely unconscious while foaming at the mouth. The Hokage was in no better shape. He was not thrown back but was knocked out by a pulse that emanated from the man in front of him. It radiated out from his eyes and seemed to produce a visible wave that passed over everyone in the room and the ANBU that had just arrived at the window. The windows in the room were all cracked and when it was over, everyone but Rayleigh was unconscious. "Maybe I overdid it?" said the man before he disappeared in a burst of smoke that indicated the use of shadow clone and that the real Rayleigh had never been in the room in the first place. Of course, no one was conscious to figure this out.

x-x

Dango Restaurant

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"Damn!" came the response of oddly dressed old man sitting at a dango restaurant as he banged on the table. Several guests were startled at his outburst. He had found the place after a little searching and had just ordered a large plate of dango when the memories from his shadow clone had reached him.

He looked at the plate and realized that he couldn't take it with him, so he looked around and saw a sad purple haired girl sitting in the corner eating slowly from a small plate of dango. Rayleigh smiled as he got an idea.

x-x

Same restaurant

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It was official. Mitarashi Anko was having one of her worst birthdays ever. The young chunin was stuck doing a D-rank mission in the morning to help with the reconstruction and that meant she couldn't get a higher paying C-rank. She needed to pay her rent and thus she was stuck with almost no money leftover for anything else. She didn't have any savings and lived from mission to mission. That meant no birthday meal nor any present that she would have to buy herself. The chunin didn't have many friends and even then they weren't really close friends. The best she could do was a few sticks of dango. Not that she was complaining about dango, she loved dango. Unfortunately she could only buy a few sticks as compared to her usual family sized platter. The only things that happened which was good was that the majority of the village were focused on hating the Kyuubi container and not solely her for once.

She was broken out of her thoughts by a loud curse. She looked up and found an oddly dressed man looking around the restaurant. His eyes settled on her and he...smiled. 'Great, I don't know why that perverted old geezer is smiling but if he tries anything, he'll get a crotch full of kunai.' she thought as she eyed the man and fingered a kunai underneath the table.

The man picked up his platter of dango and walked towards her. He stopped when he was at her table and his smiled got even bigger as he spoke, "Unfortunately I have some business to take care of so here.." he put his platter dango in front of her, "you can have this. Also.." he moved inside his cloak and Anko tensed ready to parry an attack but he pulled out a wallet, "here is enough to cover the food and leave a tip. Do you happen to know where the orphanage is by any chance?" the man asked, the smile never leaving his face.

"Ehhhhh...umm...its down the main street, then you turn left onto Nidaime Street and take it to the end. It should be right there." Anko replied in a confused voice. The man smiled, handed her the money and left, presumably to the orphanage.

Anko blinked owlishly several times and looked down at the family sized platter of dango, which was exactly what she had wanted earlier. Then she looked at the wad of cash that appeared to be several times more than what the man should have left.

"Huh...things are looking up for once. That old man left me the dango that I wanted and more money than I need. Just enough to buy something nice. It's like my wish came true."

Narrowing her eyes, Anko looked around cautiously and then said, "Orochimaru's head on a silver platter." Of course nothing happened and she knew that it wouldn't happen, but on the off chance that it could have happened, she was not going to waste the opportunity. 'Well, I guess you can't get everything but this is probably the best birthday I've had in years.' and with that sad thought, she began devouring the platter of dango and thinking about what she would buy with the extra money. Maybe that trench coat that she always wanted.

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Orphanage

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Rayleigh knew that he had little time and he needed to act fast. Displaying speed that was unknown for someone of his age he raced in the direction that the girl had told him. His clone was right in thinking that it was too difficult to take the boy outside of the village. He would have nearly every ninja in the village on his tail and he doubted he could keep ahead of teams of ANBU and tracking squads for very long. He didn't have the stamina that he used to. He could barely make four shadow clones without tiring himself out anymore which was a far cry from his younger years. Running from a village of shinobi while carrying a child was out of the question. He still had a plan though and it might work too. He just needed to accomplish several things in the time it took for the Hokage or his guards to wake up.

The girls information about the location of the orphanage had been correct and walked right in. Getting past the ANBU guarding the orphanage was rather easy, the man wasn't even paying attention. Once inside of the building, he was met by the receptionist. The head of the receptionist was lifting from reading through the paperwork on her desk and Rayleigh acted before she could see him. He released enough of his Haki to make her fall unconscious. He really didn't like using that technique on someone that was just a civilian and no threat to him, but time was of the essence and he had to get to the boy fast.

He looked through the files and found the Uzumaki Naruto on one of the files. Stopping to ask one of the children their about where the nursery was, he henged into the women at the front desk to avoid knocking out anyone else.

One would think that it would be difficult to find a baby, especially when you don't even know what the infant looked like in the first place but that proved not to be an obstacle. Uzumaki Naruto seemed to be the only baby in the nursery that was crying and nobody was bothering to check on. His gaze passed a nurse and she didn't even seem to acknowledge that blonde haired boy was crying. He moved through several hand seals and placed a genjutsu over the nurse to keep her from noticing him. Since she was a civilian, it was easy to place and keep the jutsu up.

While still disguised, Rayleigh picked up the baby and looked at him curiously. The boy stopped crying as soon as he was picked up. 'He has his father's hair and a combination of their eyes, but his face seems to resemble more his mother. Where did those whisker marks come from. Neither Kushina-chan, Mito-sensei, or any other member of the Uzumaki clan had marks like that. Perhaps because he is the son of a jinchuuriki but Mito-sensei's child never had marks like that either. Strange, I wonder if he had them before or after the sealing? No one else in Uzushio had any kind of marks like that and neither did Minato. Though I have idea about any of Minato's family.' were Rayleigh's thoughts as he held the boy. He looked into the blue eyes that seemingly stared back and he had the feeling that he was doing the right thing for the boy.

Getting back to the situation at hand, Rayleigh moved out of the nursery with the boy and headed for a back door which he believed was an exit to the building. He didn't even have to explain why he was kidnapping a child because he didn't pass anyone save for the nurse he passed on the way in and she was still under the genjutsu. Hopefully he still had time before the Hokage woke and started a village wide search and hopefully Naruto would stay quiet.

He still needed to send a message to his former teammate. He had no idea how to take care of a baby and even though she had never had any kids herself, he remembered that she did have some experience taking care of babies. It may have been a D-rank mission that they performed in Uzushio or something along those lines. What he did know was that he was in over his head on this one and needed her for backup.

'I just hope she can help me for an extended period of time. I'm not sure if she'll be willing to leave her bar in the hands of someone else for that long. Also whatever else she happens to be doing on the side. Shakky always has more going on in that bar then meets the eye. Whether information brokering, buying and selling valuable/stolen items, gambling, or even a loan shark. The women does it all while inconspicuously being a small bar that only serves food and drink. Of course she always charges insane prices and rips off every customer that enters the place.' thought Rayleigh with a smile on his face as he thought about what his former teammate and that Rip-off Bar of her's.

Please Review


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

x-x

Chapter II: This was definitely a bad idea, with good consequences

Twenty minutes after the kidnapping a blonde haired jinchuuriki from the local orphanage, a tall thin women walked through the front gates Konoha. Her skin was tanned and she had short black hair with two tufts/bangs pointing forward. She was dressed in tight giraffe patterned pants and a purple shirt with a black spider design on the front that showed a good amount of cleavage. Of course if anyone actually figured out just how old she was, the would first be shocked and then jealous because she had very few wrinkles for her old age. She looked just like she had decades before. Over the shirt she had a black coat with blueish stripes down the sleeves and she wore a golden beaded necklace.

Before walking up to the guard post at the gate, she looked around the village seeing what had changed and then tapped the ash from her cigarette onto the ground. Her facial expression remained emotionless as she approached the two chunin guards at the gate. Unlike her teammate she decided to use the direct approach to entering a ninja village.

"Welcome to Konoha, do you have ID with you." asked one the guards. For people who were not ninja of the village, it was standard procedure check identification when they entered the village and place them on a list and also find out there reason for being in the village.

"Yes I do." the woman replied but made no motion to show her ID to the guards. A short staring contest ensued before it was broken by the guards. "Can we see your ID." The second guard replied in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Of course, but its going to cost you." replied the woman with a small smirk as she took out her ID but didn't show it to the guards.

"Cost us? We just want to see your ID, so we can get your identity and let you into the village." the first guard asked.

"To see my ID will cost you ten-thousand Ryo." she stated seriously.

(AN: I think the conversion is around 0.1 to dollars so ten-thousand Ryo is around $1000. If I'm wrong, then I don't care, because that is what the conversion will be from now on)

"TEN-THOUSAND? Why would it cost us that much just to see your ID?" shouted the first guard as he stood up from his seat, while both looked shocked and confused at the woman's demands.

"Information is power and I won't go giving away valuable information about myself without a price. Ten-thousand Ryo seems rather fair." she said in a calm voice.

Both guards looked at each other, not sure what to do in this situation. In the past, people refuse to show ID, which got them thrown out of the village but no one had ever demanded money to see their ID before. 'This is ridiculous' they both thought. The second guard decided to make his thoughts known.

"No fucking way are we paying anything to see your ID! You either show us or you can leave!"

The woman took a long inhale of her cigarette and let out the smoke at the two guards, "Then I'm afraid this is going to have to get ugly." she stated with finality. Before either guard could react she had already moved behind them and gave them a beating that they wouldn't ever forget.

Then she stole their wallets and IDs.

x-x

Grocery store, at the exact same time

x-x

A blonde haired women with a baby walked into a local grocery store and started browsing the shelves for baby food and everything else that would be required to take care of the child. She was neither attractive nor ugly and was wearing a neutral colored dress. The baby she was holding had the same color hair, only spiky and not wavy like his presumed mother's hair.

'This should do, at least until I can get a message out to Shakky.' thought the Henged woman. Rayleigh had placed a different henge over himself and had placed a small one over Naruto to hide his whiskers. He had been sticking to heavily crowded areas to cover his scent and find the supplies that he needed to hideout until his teammate could get their and help him. He had already sent a letter by hawk to her bar and he just hoped she could make it to Konoha by the following day. She only lived less than sixteen kilometers away, just outside of Crater City in Fire Country.

Rayleigh had yet to see any ninja searching for him and guessed that he had mere minutes before the Hokage sent out his forces on a village wide search. Since he was completely alert for any nearby ninja, he had overheard numerous conversations of both civilian and ninja concerning the infant in his arms. It seemed the majority of the village thought the boy should be killed for what he contained. A great number either viewed the child as the Kyuubi incarnate or that the Kyuubi would eventually rise again and either influence or escape from the boy.

The only thing that people were unanimous about was their praise of the Yondaime and his sacrifice for the village. The man had been elevated to almost a martyr status and some were talking about finishing what the man had started and killing the Kyuubi-child.

'Damnit Sarutobi! What were you thinking when you told the entire village about the boy and his burden. You could have made up any story you wanted, but for some reason you decided to tell them all the truth. Even all the civilians for Kami's sake. If there are any spies in the village, it won't be long before every other hidden village knows about him being the container of the Kyuubi. I still can't believe how easy it was for me to kidnap him.' thought Rayleigh angrily while he searched for supplies for himself and the baby. He had only felt one presence from an nearby ANBU at the orphanage but that ninja wasn't even paying attention to the boy or any threats to him. The man wasn't even inside the building.

"I wonder what baby stuff Kushina-chan already bought for him?" Rayleigh questioned himself out-loud.

He would find out shortly enough anyway, considering that he was going to barricade himself in the woman's house with fuinjutsu for the next couple of years.

x-x

Hokage Tower

x-x

'I can't believe I was defeated that easily, and by a man decades older than me no less!' thought the furious Hokage. He, along with his nearby ANBU had been unconscious for nearly an hour before they were found and woken with smelling salts. In that time many things had happened in the village and only some of them would make any sense once they were reported to him.

Upon fully waking up, the Hokage had instantly sent several ANBU to check on Naruto at the orphanage. Although the ANBU guarding the building claimed that everything was fine, the infant was gone nonetheless and the only evidence that anyone had been there was an unconscious secretary. After she had been woken up, she informed them that someone had entered the building and then she just seemed to pass out.

The Hokage had expected this but what he hadn't anticipated was a chunin had come to the tower to report that the gate guards were found beaten and crammed underneath the little booth/stand that they sat at while watching the main gate. Both weren't able to talk and were sent to the hospital. Now the Sandaime had to deal with the fact that either Rayleigh had left the village with Naruto or that someone else was behind the beating of the chunin guards. No one knew how long they were out or who had left or entered the village since they had been knocked out. Both of their wallets and ninja ID's were missing.

This didn't bode well at all. It meant that one or multiple people could have infiltrated the village and are now masquerading as his ninja. Rayleigh had stated that he wouldn't leave the village but the beaten guards spoke differently and he had no way of knowing at that moment if Naruto was inside or outside of the village.

The bearded kage had sent all of his available ninja out to search the village and had dispatched all of his tracking units to investigate the gate and the whereabouts of the unknown fugitive that had attacked the chunin guards. He had sent only his trusted ANBU to find out Rayleigh's whereabouts. The Sandaime did not want mass civil unrest at the thought that the Kyuubi container was kidnapped and therefore hadn't revealed to anyone that the baby was missing. He really couldn't trust that rest of the village ninja would not harm Naruto if they caught Rayleigh and he had the feeling that if they tried to hurt the boy, then Rayleigh would kill them.

The Sandaime had tried to use his crystal ball to find Naruto but all he seemed to get was a black shroud. This meant that his technique had found the boy but was being blocked. He tried to find Rayleigh as well but he was being blocked too. This wasn't very conclusive as the ball could work for a radius of several miles depending on the chakra and control of the user. Rayleigh could be inside the village or several miles outside the village.

He then personally went to the barrier corps to try and find Naruto's chakra signature in the village. The old Hokage was relieved to sense the boy's signature inside the village walls but he couldn't pinpoint where.

The Hokage was just entering his office when one of the ANBU tracking groups body flickered inside.

"Report!" demanded the frustrated and stressed Hokage.

"Hokage-sama..." the ninja turned to address the Hokage as he entered and shut the door to his office, "...we examined the front gate thoroughly but all we managed to pick up was the strong scent of cigarette smoke. It seemed to cover every scent in the area. We tried to follow the scent but...apparently many people smoke that brand of cigarettes in the village."

The Hokage mentally sighed in aggravation. "Did you find out anything else?"

"Hai, we discovered that the suspect was a single individual who entered the village. They weren't running or in any hurry as they walked up to the gate. We can only guess at what the person did or where they went after beating the guards but we have several teams searching for a henged individual using either of the chunin's appearances or ID's." the captain of the team stated and the Hokage nodded to them in acceptance of the report.

"Have you heard anything from the other team following the kidnapper?" the Sandaime asked.

The grayish-white spiky haired ANBU captain tensed slightly at the mention of the suspect and said, "They were having difficulty finding his whereabouts. He seemed to enter several stores such as the Yamanaka flower shop and a scented candle store that overloading the nose of the Inuzuka member of their teams. His ninken is still trying to find a trail but it just seems to end." concluded the ANBU captain.

"Thank you Inu-san, I would like you to join the search party as well, dismissed." said the Sandaime and the ninja before him nodded and disappeared in a blur of speed. 'That old bastard Rayleigh probably led them to the flower and candle shops just for shits and giggles. He could have lost them at any point before that and I doubt he needed to visit those shops.' concluded the Sandaime in his mind while shaking his head.

The Hokage's trusted ANBU had already followed sighted the man several times at some random area in the village only to find nothing when they chased him. 'I can't believe he's fooling my ninja with the regular clone technique.' thought the Hokage sadly. It had been a long day and it wasn't even two in the afternoon yet. The Sandaime already had a pounding headache. He wasn't sure if it was the situation or the fact that he slammed his head on his desk when he was knocked unconscious by Rayleigh's technique. 'What the hell was that technique. I'm called the 'Professor' and the 'God of Shinobi' and I can't even identify what attack that was. It must have been some yin/yang nature technique.' the Hokage was interrupted from his thoughts by his secretary at the door.

"Hokage-sama the shinobi council has requested a meeting as well as the village elders. When would you like to meet with them?" she asked.

The Hokage's answer would have been 'Never!' but he held his tongue and decided that it was inevitable that he would have to meet with them. The kidnapping of their jinchuuriki in broad daylight was not something that he wanted to tell them about. 'I really need to increase village security. This is just ridiculous, one person kidnaps a child right under the nose of an ANBU and another person walks right through the front gate and beats up the guards without as much as an alarm sounding. Not to mention my personal guards and I got knocked unconscious by an old man far past his prime. Maybe I'll mention increasing village security at the meeting. I'll leave out the part about me getting knocked out.'

x-x

Namikaze Residence, a small two story house in the residential area of Konoha

x-x

Rayleigh was just finishing disarming the last of the security seals and barriers on the Namikaze Estate. 'I guess I'll have to call it the Uzumaki Estate from now on though' he thought as he looked down at the small blonde baby in the basket next to him. He had been given access to enter the small yard the house was on, which meant that he could bypass the powerful barrier protecting the entire estate, but there were still seals guarding the house itself which he did not have access to. It really wasn't very hard for an accomplished seal master like himself to bypass them though. He had always liked the small two story home that the young couple had purchased and kept secret. According to Konoha tax and planning maps, this house didn't even exist.

He doubted anyone but the Hokage and maybe those annoying village elders knew it existed. Not even the clan heads knew about it. That meant it was perfect to hide from a village full of searching ninja. The place even had some kind of genjutsu that stopped people from being able to see into the yard or notice anyone leaving the front gate or surrounding walls. There wasn't enough room on the lot for a large training area but he would make due in the future when he trained the boy.

He was definitely starting the boys training early and he would try to teach him as much as possible before his time came. Most people of Uzushiogakure not only lived long lives but also were able to tell when their natural time of death came near. As there natural death from old age approached they could even tell the day that they would die on. The lifespan of an average person from Uzushio could be anywhere from ninety to one hundred twenty years of age with one hundred thirty being a rare maximum. Members of the Uzumaki clan had more vitality then others in Uzushio. A person from Uzushio who was a hundred years old would still have the vitality of a normal person in their eighties and an Uzumaki of the same age would have the vitality of a person in their seventies. Rayleigh himself was already one hundred eight years old and he could feel his natural death approaching in less than ten years.

Rayleigh's sad thoughts were cut short as he finished bypassing the last security seal on the front door. 'Finally, that took longer than I thought it would have. I guess Minato and Kushina really wanted to keep me out.' Rayleigh joked in his mind as he pushed the stroller into the house and shut the door.

"I thought you would probably come here Ray-san." said a voice from the shadows.

A startled Rayleigh jumped was instantly on the defensive and prepared himself. He hadn't even noticed that anyone was there. The only thing he saw was a small lit ember in a shadow by the living room and he recognized it as a cigarette. Then his mind finally recognized the voice.

"Kami Shakky, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" said the smiling Rayleigh to the shadowed figure as he braced himself against the wall. She really had startled him

Sure enough, his former teammate stepped out of the shadows with a cigarette in one hand and gently laughing at Rayleigh's suprise. She walked over to the stroller and looked at the cute baby. "So this is Kushina's child, Ray-san?" she said in a casual voice.

"How did you get here so fast? I just sent a letter to you not even two hours ago. And how did you know who this baby was?" Were the questions from a confused Rayleigh. He was sure the woman before him was Shakky but he was very confused.

"Letter? I never got a letter. I left my bar several hours ago to come here. I heard about the Kyuubi attack weeks ago and calculated that it would take you this long to hear about it from the area you retired to. My intuition told me that the Kyuubi wasn't gone and that it had been sealed inside Kushina's child. I heard from my information sources that you had left and were on your way to Konoha. I also had a feeling that you would be hear and would need my help." Shakky explained to a shocked Rayleigh. Large sweat-drops had formed on the back of his head during her explanation.

'I've known her for almost a century and I still can't believe how scary her woman's intuition is. Wait a minute..' "How did you know Kushina was pregnant?"

Shakky shrugged and said, "We exchanged letters back and forth. I've known for months that she was pregnant. Unlike you, I can be reached by messenger hawk. I even got her a gift for the baby-shower though I was the only one besides the Sandaime's wife who could attend." Rayleigh really wanted to face-vault at that, he had to go to Sarutobi to get all of his information and he practically had to pry it from the old monkey's hands, feet, and tail. Shakky on the other hand more information and just pieced it all together by herself with guess work. 'That's so scary.' he thought.

"So, you did make sure to kidnap the right child?" she asked looking at the boy. He had Minato's hair and similar features to Kushina, but the whisker marks were new.

"Yep, only one in the nursery at the orphanage who was being neglected and the name tag matched. Uzumaki Naruto, an interesting name. Though I think he might have been named him after a ramen topping." said Rayleigh with a quirky smile and he continued, "I don't know where those six marks came from."

"It makes Naruto-chan look like a little fox. There gonna make him a cutey when he gets older. If he doesn't start hiding them." stated Shakky while rubbing the babies whiskered cheeks while Rayleigh sweat-dropped again. He had to admit though, it may be best to hide them. Everyone in the village seemed to know about the marks on his face and had decided that they were proof that he was the Kyuubi or that the baby was being possessed or some ridiculous nonsense like that.

Rayleigh left the boy to Shakky and went to sit on the couch in the living room. Slumping down into the cushions he sighed. Rayleigh had been running around the village for nearly an hour and half while hiding from every ninja and carrying a baby with him.

He took time to examine the room and it looked exactly like it had when he last visited. He often talked with Kushina about Uzushio and his missions, his team, and his adventures in the world. He had been around for over a century and seen many things in his time. She and Minato would listen to his stories over food or drink. Rayleigh was always welcome there and Kushina was always nice to him. He didn't see her as the Kyuubi and enjoyed the time he spent with her and her husband.

Coming back to reality, he smiled and asked Shakky, "So what have you been up to today? I seem to remember hearing about two beaten up gate guards and a fiasco about someone infiltrating the village."

Shakky had placed Naruto into a carrier and taken him into the living room. She placed him beside Rayleigh and say in an adjacent chair and replied. "Fufufufu, well I went to the area outside the village and saw where the end of the battle took place. There was quite a bit of destruction. Minato-chan seemed to have a safe-house out there and I checked, but everything had been destroyed. I then came to village and went to the records room in the administration building to make a few changes. You are now listed as a civilian of fire country living in Konoha under your alias of Silver Rayleigh. Congratulations, you adopted Uzumaki Naruto around an hour ago." she said as she handed him the adoption forms from a pocket inside her coat, "I even got them approved by the Hokage and according to your Will, he is set to inherit everything you own when you pass on. This house is also listed in the will even though it doesn't exist on any map or in the village records but there's a deed to the house sealed into a storage seal on the Will along with information on all your holding and accounts."

"I have a Will?" asked Rayleigh disbelievingly trying to keep up with all the information she was giving him. Shakky merely smiled and pulled a folded letter out of her coat pocket again and handed to him. "Here, I made a copy so you could read it."

Rayleigh accepted the letter and read through it. It read through as a standard Will and it was signed by himself, had a notary stamp, and was approved by the Hokage. "You forged my signature perfectly. How in the world did you get the Hokage's approval, especially on the adoption form?"

"It was easier then I thought it would be. I thought I might have to seduce the old monkey but when I went into his office, he was unconscious along with many of his ANBU. I just 'borrowed' his approval stamp and approved all of the documents that I needed. He started to come around so I also put him under a genjutsu and had him sign off on a few things. Like the deed to this house for instance and a few other things that you don't need to concern yourself with." Shakky said as if it was no bid deal.

Rayleigh eyed the woman wearily. 'When did she find out about my holdings and bank account numbers. Or learn to forge my signature for that matter. What else did she get Sarutobi to sign? I better just skip asking her about that and the gate guards, its obvious to me that she beat them nearly to death.' were the thoughts going through his mind as it tried to wrap around just what his former teammate had been up to in a few hours.

As soon as his mind finished going over everything she told him, he couldn't help but laugh out loud at the situation. They hadn't been on a team in decades but they still had excellent teamwork. While he grabbed the child, she covered just about everything else.

"I see you've been pretty busy too. Attacking the Hokage and his ninja, kidnapping, leading the village on a wild chase, buying baby supplies, breaking and entering, and it looks like one of your shadow clones is outside adding some more security to the house and yard. I better feed Naruto-chan, he looks hungry. When do you think we should let Saru know where we are and let him call of his annoying wasps? " stated Shakky as she picked up Naruto and looked out the window to see numerous shinobi combing the village and searching for them, well mainly Rayleigh. They still didn't know what she looked like and wouldn't until those chunin woke up and gave a description.

"Do you still have that summoning contract of yours?" Rayleigh asked Shakky as she started feeding Naruto. "Yes. You better write a message and then I'll summon one of my little birds to send it."

Rayleigh nodded and went to get supplies to write a letter to Sarutobi. Unfortunately, he had no idea what he was going to say.

x-x

Hokage Tower

x-x

It was now mid-afternoon and wherever Rayleigh was hiding, he had picked a good place. The Sandaime's ninja hadn't been able to find him or the other intruder that entered the village. Both had seemingly disappeared, but the Hokage did know from the barrier corps that the baby was still in the village. 'I really should have put a tracking seal on that baby.' were the Hokage's current thoughts. 'Then again, Rayleigh probably would have found it and removed it already.'

The Sandaime was completely stressed out and really wanted hurt something. Preferably Rayleigh. He really wanted to summon Enma, have the monkey king transform into his bo staff, and beat some sense into the man. The Sandaime was supposed to take care of Naruto and now the boy was kidnapped. The Hokage didn't even know where the blonde baby was. To make matters worse he would have to tell the council something about what had happened. He hadn't told any of the council or the village elders what was going on.

Three hours ago, this whole fiasco started and his ninja had been searching for two. His meeting with the shinobi council and village elders was a half-hour from now and the Sandaime was dreading it. So far, the village did not know that Naruto was kidnapped. What they did know was that a fugitive was hiding in the village and the village ninja were trying to find them. Only his trusted ANBU were searching for Rayleigh and Naruto and only they knew that the boy was kidnapped. The remaining ninja were searching for the unknown fugitive.

A poof of smoke erupted on the Sandaime's desk that demanded his full attention. The smoke dispersed and revealed larger than average swallow that was standing on top of a scroll. The bird chirped at him and then disappeared in another smaller puff of smoke. For several seconds the Sandaime starred at the scroll while taking a puff from his pipe. He didn't detect any chakra buildup from the scroll or any other sign that would be present if it was a trap or trick. He picked up the thin scroll and opened it, written on the inside was a letter to him. It read:

_Dear Sarutobi-san,_

_By now you know exactly what I've done. In the storage seal at the bottom of the scroll are several documents. The top one is a copy of Naruto's adoption form. You don't need to worry about anything because you already signed them. _

(The Hokage released the storage seal and looked at the copy of the adoption forms, 'Dear Kami, that is my signature and a forgery of Jiraiya's. It's even been approved with my stamp!')

_As you can see from the forms, I am now Naruto's legal guardian and those documents are legal unless you prove otherwise. You don't have to worry about me leaving the village because I intend to stay for a while. I already found someone to help with raising Naruto in the mean time and I already found a place to stay. We're staying at Kushina's house, which, according to the deed in the papers you just unsealed from the storage seal, now belongs to me. _

('Damn, that's the one place I didn't have my ANBU check' thought Sarutobi as he didn't know Rayleigh could even get access to the house.)

_I pray that you didn't tell the whole village or the council that Naruto was kidnapped and cause mass panic among your ignorant masses. I really hope you learned from your previous mistakes._

(The Sandaime frowned at that.)

_Just make something up when you talk with the council, if you haven't already done so. I intend to take care of Naruto until the end of my life which unfortunately will be before he graduates from the ninja academy. After that, Naruto should be able to live on his own. I intend to start teaching him early._

_Please don't try to storm the Uzumaki Estate as I have placed several barriers and numerous fuinjutsu seals in the time I've had since I left your office. Your ANBU wouldn't stand a chance. If the council has a problem with me raising Naruto, I don't really care_

_Silver Rayleigh_

_Shakuyaku_

'I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Trying to get Naruto back is out of the question. I know how dangerous Uzumaki fuinjutsu can be and I don't want to test out how inventive Rayleigh can get with his seals.' thought the Sandaime as he tried to calm his nerves. It appears that Rayleigh's old teammate Shakky was helping him. That would explain the beaten guards, the forged documents, and the break-in at the records room that he had just been informed about. Someone had used the ID and a henge of one of the injured guards to gain access to village records.

Usually his pipe helped him but today it just wasn't working. He rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to think about the current situation. The happenings of the entire day made him really wanted to bang his head on the desk.

The documents in front of him were legal unless he could prove that they were forged. The Sandaime knew they were forged but he still had to follow the law and prove it. When the Sandaime woke up from being unconscious, he had a pen in his hand and it was possible that he was made to sign the document, in which case it really was his signature. He would also have to call Jiraiya back to confirm that his signature had been forged. Jiraiya wasn't coming back to the village for a long time, that much the Sandaime knew. How exactly could he prove that the document was fake if he did actually sign it, while unconscious, and if he couldn't call Jiraiya back to prove that his student didn't sign this document.

If he really did want to prove that the document was fake, then he would need a trial and have to call in all parties associated. This would no doubt attract unwanted attention and the only option that the Sandaime had would be to not do anything. The situation was not to his liking at all. He also didn't like the fact that Rayleigh was staying in the Yondaime's residence but their was little he could do as, according to the documents in front of him, the unlisted house now belonged to Rayleigh.

The Sandaime let out a huge sigh. 'Unfortunately, the best choice for right now is to leave Naruto in Rayleigh's care. I guess Rayleigh managed to get what he wanted in the end. Now I have to decide what to tell the shinobi council. Damnit Minato, why did you have to die and leave me all these problems!'

x-x

Council Room, thirty minutes later

x-x

The members of the shinobi council and the village elders took there seats along the table. The Sandaime sat at the head of the circular table with everyone else sitting around him. There was no real order to the seating, at least the Sandaime never cared about it. The last person to enter the room was Shimura Danzo, the Sandaime's old rival. The man slowly made his way the seat while using his cane and the Sandaime wanted to roll his eyes. He knew the man purposely came in last and would sit last to make him look more important. He also knew that his rival may not have been nearly as injured as he made himself seem.

The Sandaime started the meeting, "Now that everyone is here.." he made a slight motion to Danzo and the man in didn't even acknowledge it, nor did he even seem to have his one good eye open. "..we can begin this meeting. Who would like to start?"

The moment after the Sandaime finished, the voice of his former teammate and now village elder, Utatane Koharu spoke, "I believe we would all like to know exactly why the ninja forces have made a mad search of the entire village, even the clan compounds?"

"As you may or may not be aware, an unknown person entered the village through the front gate and attacked the two stationed guards. Their...beaten bodies were placed underneath the desk at their station and found sometime later. With the reconstruction, we were unable to have proper ANBU patrols and it was some time before they were discovered. Both men are in the hospital and they have yet to wake but the doctors are sure that they will make a full recovery and might be conscious by tomorrow. Since then, I have had the village on alert. The front gate was shut and most people were told to remain in there homes until the suspect was found." replied the Sandaime.

"What do we know about the suspect?" asked Aburame Shibi.

To answer his question, Uchiha Fugaku looked to the Hokage who nodded to him. Fugaku was the head of the military police of Konoha and had been put in charge of the investigation. "The person in question has yet to be identified, though we have reports of a suspicious white haired man in a white cloak that was sighted several times around the village and we had one report of the secretary at the orphanage being rendered unconscious by a man matching that description. Tracking teams were unable to find a scent due to the only scent being found was cigarettes and the popularity of that particular brand in Konoha. We also have a report of one of the beaten guards using his ID to access village records despite being unconscious at the time. We're still trying to determine what information he was accessing. "

Several people in the room straightened in their seats or were now paying more attention after the situation had been elaborated on.

"Do we know anything about what this person might be after?" asked Nara Shikaku. Normally he wouldn't be that interested at these meeting and try to fall asleep but the current topic was far more important than what was normally discussed at these council meeting and he was beginning to peace together something which wasn't very good.

This time the Hokage answered, "No I don't think we do. They didn't kill the guards which is very odd considering that they may have been seen and that is what an infiltrator or spy would do. They also haven't done anything other than access village records which were the civilian records and trying to get into the orphanage. They could be trying to set up a cover for a spy but that is a rather sloppy way to go about it considering their obvious skill in infiltration and evading capture. Considering the amount of time it took until the gate guards were found and the lack of any recent appearance, as the sightings and two reports were made before the guards were found, it is entirely possible that the individual has already left the village and won't be found."

Not a single member of the council took this information lightly. Their village had been infiltrated by an unknown person and before they could even find an identity or gain any information about this individual, they had already escaped. It screamed incompetence on the part of the village shinobi. They weren't even sure what this person had done while inside the village. By the quick entry and escape while remaining undetected, it seemed like a professional with years of experience in infiltration but the reports and living witnesses spoke of an amateur operation with no real thought or planning.

"I know nobody wants to hear this but is it possible that they were looking for information on Uzumaki Naruto?" put forth Shikaku after some thought into the situation. This question had a much more profound affect on the council. They all began to see that it was possible that someone was looking for information on the resident Jinchuuriki. It would explain the trip to the records room and the trip to the orphanage. News was already spreading far and wide about the defeat of the Kyuubi but not everyone might take the news at face value.

"Hiruzen, have your ninja checked on the boy to make sure he is still in the orphanage." asked Mitokado Homura in a serious and tense voice.

The Hokage realized for his part that this presented an opportunity for him which was created by the actions of Rayleigh and Shakky. "Yes, he is safe. Once I was informed by my ANBU about the gate guards and the secretary at the orphanage, I placed the boy in a secure location under the guard of two of my seasoned ANBU. The ANBU at the orphanage did not notice anyone in the vicinity and responded to one of the matrons at the orphanage when the secretary was discovered. No trace was found of the suspect in question and Naruto was promptly moved. I have also seized his records and will be keeping them in locked away to keep them from being seen by anyone else. I don't believe that his records were accessed by the infiltrator." the Hokage half lied.

Several members of the council relaxed at this news. They didn't want another village to find out about the Kyuubi container and hoped that the boy hadn't been discovered. The last thing that they wanted was for him to be kidnapped.

'I can't believe that I just got away with that.' thought the Sandaime while keeping a straight face. 'By seizing his records and keeping them out of sight, I won't have to worry about anyone finding out that Naruto has been adopted. I can even put the forged documents with the rest of his records and keep them in my vault behind my portrait in my office that only I have access to. I also have a reason to keep Naruto out of the orphanage for the time being and no one may ask about his whereabouts after that. If everything goes well they may not ask about his whereabouts until he is ready to join the academy.'

The Hokage was amazed at the turn of events. The previous decisions of the council when he revealed to them his burden, were that Naruto would stay at the orphanage and, due to his civilian status, his records were all to be kept in the records room of the administration building next to the Hokage tower. Altering or leaving out information from those records was against the law. The Hokage could not hold onto or seal away civilian records like he could with his ANBU division. Even the regular ninja forces records were not sealed but had restricted access to certain ninja personnel, the council, the elders, and the Hokage. All ANBU records were sealed safely in the Hokage tower to keep their identities and information secret.

With Naruto's records now seized, no one else could view them. They wouldn't be able to find out any information about Naruto. Civilian and ninja records were quite thorough and updated regularly. With Naruto's records seized, the Sandaime could make additions or removals to the records without worrying about others objecting. It pretty much meant that the Hokage could directly control all information concerning him. The Hokage was no longer obligated to inform anyone about anything concerning Naruto. He could make decisions about the boy that overstepped his boundaries as Hokage and update the boys records while never having to inform anyone that these decisions were made. 'I guess things worked out for the best, though I still have a splitting headache and..' he looked at the clock and sighed, '...another hour of paperwork before I can leave the office, damn!'

Please Review


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

x-x

Chapter III: Payback in the form of a baby

AN: **Naruto is now six months old**

"I didn't now you were interested in photography?" the Sandaime asked the white haired man in front of him while he sipped his tea. They were both sitting at the dinning room table and the Sandaime was looking at the numerous pictures on a nearby stand. The Sandaime had been visiting at least three times a week to check up on Naruto. He was initially worried about them not letting him into the house but Rayleigh had no problem with it, as long as the Sandaime didn't try and take Naruto.

"I'm not. Shakky is though. She insisted that he was the cutest thing ever and got pictures of him in a bunch of different outfits." stated Rayleigh as he looked to the stand with nearly fifteen framed pictures of a blonde haired child. The Sandaime took his eyes away from the pictures and looked around the house. Rayleigh had moved all of his things into the house. The man seemed to have a collection of just about everything. He had swords, expensive pieces of art, books, scrolls, antiques, and a wild assortment of items collected from years of traveling the elemental nations and beyond.

The Hokage then took in Rayleigh's appearance and had to hold back a smirk. The man's appearance was rather haggard and disheveled. He had some bags under his eyes from late nights obviously as a result of taking care of Naruto. "It looks like you've seen better days." the Sandaime quipped.

"You have no idea Sarutobi. The first ninja war was easier then taking care of that brat. He eats five times the regular amount of formula that is recommended and he shits a proportional amount. I can't seem to understand exactly how he fits it all in him. He just learned how to crawl and has been keeping both of us on our toes. If I let him outside, he could do laps around the house. He could probably crawl around the village before he gets tires." replied Rayleigh.

The Sandaime couldn't help a smile breaking out on his face. He was finally getting revenge for the amount of problems that the pair had caused in the village months before and even a couple of times since then. "By the way, where is Shakky and Naruto?"

"Think she just managed to put him to sleep. Thank Kami. For the most part I just try to stay out of her way." said Rayleigh, ending in a slightly frightened tone.

"Why's that?" the Sandaime asked seriously. Rayleigh answered in a slightly lowered voice, "Since she has been taking care of Naruto, I told her she couldn't smoke anywhere near him. She pretty much quit cold-turkey and since then I have tried not to aggravate her in any way."

The Sandaime paled slightly and shiver went down his old spine. It was one thing to have an angry Tsunade. She would attack with a single maximum-powered punch that was almost guaranteed to put someone in the hospital for a while. He knew that Shakky's method was different however. She didn't hit nearly as hard but went about her punishments systematically like a technician. Shakky could beat someone for hours while keeping them conscious and making sure not to give them any fatal injuries. Then the victim would be in the hospital for an even longer period because of the sheer amount of damage. Tsunade's method, while initially incredibly painful and life threatening, was far more humane. The Sandaime did not want to cross Shakky if she was irritable from lack of nicotine.

Both men jumped in their seats as Shakky's voice came from the staircase as she made her way downstairs. "So, what are you to talking about? I hope it isn't about me." said the women's smooth voice while laced with a slight threat.

"Hmm...oh...we were just discussing the seal and about Naruto's upbringing weren't we Hiruzen-san?" said Rayleigh with a smile to the man sitting across from him. The Hokage for his part was instantly on guard because the man hardly called him by his first name unless he was about to swindle him.

"I keep telling Hiruzen-san that the seal is completely fine even though Naruto doesn't have his mothers or Mito-sensei's special chakra. Although the small amount of Kyuubi's chakra that is filtered into him will exponentially increase his reserves and in order to make sure the boy can handle his large chakra reserves will require special training rather early, otherwise he may never be able to control his chakra to an effective degree. Hiruzen-san has so far been against the idea." Rayleigh said in slightly disappointed voice but on the inside he was smiling at the victory he would win.

Shakky narrowed her eyes slightly and looked to the Hokage. "Everything Ray-san said was true. Naruto-chan's reserves will be incredibly high for his age and he'll need proper training to control them. By the way, that tea isn't free. It's going to cost you five thousand Ryo and refills aren't including in that number." Shakky finished on a serious note.

(AN: that would be around $500 for a cup of tea)

The Sandaime sweat-dropped as he could see he was being swindled by both people. Rayleigh was twisting his arm about Naruto and Shakky was also ripping him off for the tea by a huge margin. He also didn't want to irritate Shakky. "Well..." as the Sandaime quickly thought of his defense and proceeded, "..since I have a second opinion then I see no problem with starting the boys training a little early." both Rayleigh and Shakky nodded at this.

"I would also like to use training ground forty-three like we were discussing." added Rayleigh, still with the same smile as before. They hadn't been discussing training grounds at all but Rayleigh saw an opportunity to get what he wanted.

The Sandaime narrowed his eyes at Rayleigh. He was being swindled again. The Sandaime didn't want Naruto anywhere near training ground forty-four which was the Forest of Death. Even the training ground next to it would have been out of the question but he was trapped. "Fine, but I don't want you taking Naruto into the Forest of Death."

Rayleigh thought about this. He was going to have Naruto train in the Forest of Death but if he had Naruto go there by himself and not take the boy with him then he could bypass the agreement. "That sounds very fair Hiruzen-san." agreed Rayleigh.

This of course immediately set of alarms in the Hokage's head. 'Not only did he agree quickly, but he's still referring to me by my first name. What's he up to?' thought the Sandaime while looking straight at Rayleigh and trying to discern his real motives. Unfortunately the man in question just kept up the same smile that he had on before. Sarutobi mentally sighed at that. He just wanted to make sure that Naruto would be safe. The Forest of Death was no place for anyone who wasn't a chunin exam participant or higher. He knew Rayleigh would keep a promise.

Since Naruto was asleep and their conversation was over, the Hokage left to go back to his work. He would visit again soon to check up on Naruto. Before he got out of the door, Shakky said, "I'll put that tea on your tab Sarutobi-san." The Hokage sighed at this, 'I'm never accepting food or drink there ever again. I can't afford it.' were his thoughts.

After the Hokage was gone Shakky turned to Rayleigh and said, "Did Sarutobi-san seem to be acting a little strange, Ray-san?"

"Perhaps his job is getting to him." offered Rayleigh with a straight face.

"Well, I'm going out for a smoke Ray-san, watch Naruto-chan while I'm gone." Despite what Rayleigh had said, Shakky hadn't quit smoking. She cut down on her smoking and would go outside, into the village, to smoke. She also made sure to use a jutsu that would prevent the cigarette smoke from clinging to her clothes for Naruto's sake.

'Poor gullible Sarutobi-san,' Rayleigh thought. 'I managed to get what I wanted in the end. Unfortunately I can't take Naruto into the Forest of Death but that doesn't mean that I can't make him go in there or get Shakky to take him there.' were the thoughts going through Rayleigh's mind as he say with a small smile and finished his tea.

In his free time, he had been searching through all of the techniques and jutsu that he knew and deciding what he could teach Naruto in the time that he had left. What ever he couldn't teach, he was planning on leaving detailed scrolls for the boy, which he had begun writing.

'So many choices available. I didn't know making a decision on what to teach him would be so hard.' Rayleigh spent several days making a list of everything that he knew and started reviewing it with Shakky. As for Shakky, she had started making her own list and had found someone to take care of her bar for a while in her absence. 'She may actually gain some business because few people ripped off their customers like she does.' thought Rayleigh.

Shakky's completed list was far shorter than the list Rayleigh had compiled and had mainly the more mental aspects of being a shinobi. She decided to teach Naruto about information gathering, stealth, traps, espionage, infiltration, basic medical care and techniques, some genjutsu, and really how to think logically and remain calm in a situation. 'Those are probably some of the best things that any young ninja should have a good grasp on.' thought Rayleigh as he sighed yet again at the list in front of him.

Rayleigh had to take many factors into account when he thought about training Naruto. The first and largest factor was that Naruto would have larger chakra reserves than people twice his age. Unfortunately this meant that he would have to work extensively on chakra control. However, it did mean that Rayleigh could begin teaching shape and nature manipulation much earlier and maybe teach Naruto some powerful jutsu before he was even placed in the academy. 'That all depends on if he is able to use ninjutsu. His mother was never very good at ninjutsu but his father was better.'

The second factor was that Naruto would have advanced healing and better stamina courtesy of the Kyuubi which meant he could train harder, longer, and more dangerously than any other child. Of course this all depended on how hard Rayleigh wanted to train him. Did he want to be sadistic and push the boy past his limits or take things slower. 'I guess that depends more on the boy then me though. Anyone could train someone in different ways but it took a skilled sensei to determine which was to train his students. Some people had to be pushed hard because that was the best way they learned and grew stronger, while others required a slightly more delicate touch to training along with positive reinforcement and all that crap.' thought Rayleigh and he sighed again. 'This just keeps getting more difficult. I wish I had a generic list like Shakky.'

The third factor was that Naruto may have some niche that he might specialize in. 'He could be a ninjutsu powerhouse or favor a specific weapon.' The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't decide and in the end he came up with one conclusion.

'I'll just teach him what I know he has to learn and then make scrolls explaining everything else. If I don't have time to teach him what's in the scrolls then he'll have to learn on his own.' was Rayleigh's final decision.

Rayleigh was definitely going to teach Naruto: taijutsu, sparing, physical training, survival training, stretching/agility, dodging, ninja tools, Uzushio fuinjutsu, several secret techniques of the Uzumaki clan, basic student jutsu, chakra control, and perhaps nature manipulation. This list was based on the abilities of his parents. Both parents were very adept at fuinjutsu as well as all of the physical/practical aspects of being a shinobi. Neither parent was very adept at genjutsu and Kushina was never adept at ninjutsu. Also neither parent used any weapons besides regular ninja tools such as: kunai, shuriken, ninja wire, and explosive tags.

'Well, Minato used those three-bladed kunai. Hmm...that reminds me...I have to look at what his parents have. He should definitely learn his fathers rasengan and perhaps the Hiraishin no jutsu if I he left anything on it. Maybe Naruto would be able to finish his father's rasengan. Kushina didn't have much besides the shadow clone jutsu though.' thought Rayleigh. The shadow clone jutsu was already on the list of basic techniques to teach Naruto, which were all non-elemental techniques and ranged from E-rank to D-rank in difficulty. Of course the shadow clone jutsu was far above those but with the way his mother could use the jutsu, Naruto wouldn't have a problem with it.

Everything else would be put into scrolls for the boy to use. Some of the extra information he already had written down in several standard textbooks and scrolls that he was given as a student in Uzushio. To make sure that everyone learned the basics and some advanced material, the leader of the village wrote several 'manuals' all about ninja techniques that were written so that a novice could understand what was being taught. Uzushio didn't really have an academy. Most students were trained by their relatives or many of the older ninja or injured ninja would volunteer to train small groups of students until they could pass a rigorous examination. Rayleigh still had all those old materials as he saved just about everything. Some were even meant for chunin ninja.

Rayleigh had already looked through copies of teacher's notes and syllabus from the ninja academy, which Shakky 'borrowed', to determine what Naruto will learn in the academy. Frankly, he wasn't that impressed with what the leaf ninja academy was teaching their students. Apparently you only needed to know how to perform the bunshin no jutsu to pass the academy after six years of teaching.

Naruto would definitely get more out of those books then he would get from an academy teacher. 'Have the standards for the leaf academy fallen over the years?' he wondered. He'd have to ask Sarutobi later.

Rayleigh was also trying to decide when to teach Naruto these techniques. That had always been a topic of discussion for a sensei or parents. Do you start when they are very young and teach them incrementally from their or do you wait until they area a little older and start then. Rayleigh had heard of some clans beginning to teach how to unlock their chakra and how to start channeling chakra at age two or three and before a child could even read. Others waited until age four or five, while children from civilian family had to wait until they entered the academy.

There was also a similar debate with taijutsu and katas. Some clans started teaching katas and the very basic foundations of taijutsu as soon as a child could properly walk. Most clans didn't start teaching clan techniques or ninjutsu until at least age eight to ten. Perhaps even later than that. Though everything was skewed when a 'prodigy' was considered. Most prodigies came from the shinobi clans and were all taught at a very young age while advanced in ninja rank at unheard of speeds and at very young ages. Minato was actually not one of these children. As far as anyone knew, Namikaze Minato was an orphan and not from any ninja clan. He was taught only at the academy, starting at age six, like other civilian children. He was given the title prodigy as well but still graduated along with Kushina at age ten. Minato also became one of the strongest ninja in history.

'Damn, this is tough decision. I also have to take into account that I won't be around for very long. What would Kushina do?' Rayleigh thought. Slowly a smile formed on his lips as he thought of exactly what Kushina would do. 'She'd start as early as possible and plow forward. I seem to even remember her ditching the academy by using a shadow clone to pretend she was there while really going out and training by herself. She even got all of the memories when the clone dispersed so she didn't miss any lessons.' thought Rayleigh and he started laughing out loud.

After he had stopped laughing, he thought about that memory of Kushina. 'She was able to train in two things at once and was even at the academy all the while training elsewhere. This has promise. If Naruto used the shadow clone jutsu, he could do the same. We could both use shadow clones and I could teach him three things at once. He could also send one to the academy so I can still teach him one on one somewhere else!' thought Rayleigh excitedly.

'Has any ever trained extensively like that before? I wonder if the influx of memories could have a negative affect on Naruto? Well, I'll ask Shakky first and follow her advice on the matter.' concluded Rayleigh. Shakky was rather talented in the medical field. She wasn't Senju Tsunade or Chiyo from Suna but she was still talented nonetheless. If Shakky felt it was too dangerous then he wouldn't go through with the plan.

'So, I guess I will start training Naruto early and get in as much as possible before my time comes. Oh yeah, he's still six months old. I won't be able to start for at least another year and a half. Damn. I better get started writing those scrolls then. Hopefully I can remember all of the techniques that I have learned over the years.'

x-x

Konoha Park

x-x

A tall dark haired women was sitting on a bench and smoking a cigarette in Konoha park. Shakky, under a henge of a different looking woman with long hair and wearing a dress, was trying to relax after a long morning and night of taking care of Naruto. Even after six months of taking care of the boy it didn't get any easier. The little bouncing blonde, and she did mean bouncing, had more energy than any other baby she would ever see again.

Smoking had become a stress reliever decades ago. Of course she never suffered from any of the harmful side effects from smoking because of a several seals she had placed on her body long ago. They were responsible for stopping any of the many harmful substances present in the cancerous sticks from getting in her lungs or her body for that matter. She had probably smoked a million cigarettes over the years but she never had any problems. Her teeth weren't stained yellow, she didn't have problems breathing, and she was very healthy despite a habit that would normally have killed her by now. 'Fuinjutsu truly is a wonderful thing.' she thought as she let the breeze wash over her and listened to the calming sounds of the leaves rustling with her eyes closed.

Despite all her information gathering skills and contacts, she hadn't been able to figure out everything that had happened during the Kyuubi attack and having gaps in her information really bugged her. She also found information that was odd. Someone had managed to control and rip the Kyuubi from Kushina and only two men in the last century had ever been able to control the Kyuubi and two women had been able to fully contain it. All of those people should be dead by now. The only one not accounted for was Uchiha Madara. From what she could find, no body was every recovered after his battle with the Shodai. Of course it was hard to wrap ones mind around the fact that a man like that could still be alive nearly eighty-years after his death. Then again she was over a hundred, so anything could be possible.

Unfortunately, if it was possible then it didn't bode well for Naruto. It was more likely that Madara had survived the fight with the Shodai and given his knowledge to an apprentice and that person would have had to be from the Uchiha clan. She did some digging in the records and found that their really weren't that many members of the clan that were MIA or had disappeared. She also found that during the Kyuubi attack, not a single member of the Uchiha clan was wounded or killed. She browsed through some reports on the incident and there wasn't even a mention of their clan members helping to defend the village or get villagers to safety. The location that the Kyuubi attacked at was even far away from their clan compound.

This really didn't bode well for the village. It was all conjecture at this point but it was possible that the person who used to Kyuubi to attack the village was from the Uchiha clan and the clan was aware of what that person was going to do. Shakky already looked through some files and from what she could tell, there wasn't a single person from that clan who would have anywhere near the power and skill needed to control the Kyuubi. She knew all about the second version of the sharingan and some of its power from rumor among the elder members of the Uzumaki clan when she was younger.

'When I get back to the house, I'll tell Ray-san about what I've found. We'll have to alter Naruto-chan's training to include resisting genjutsu and hypnotism as well as all information about the sharingan, its two forms, and how to counter its power.' Shakky thought to herself.

Shakky understood how powerful the bloodline could be with the right person wielding it, but she wasn't one of those idiots that believes that the dojutsu were all powerful and that it made the clans that wielded them powerful. She had heard plenty of stories about young Uchiha seeking fame and glory on the battlefield during the clan wars era. Nearly all of them met their death because they believed that their eyes would make them invincible. Some hadn't even unlocked their bloodline yet. It was one of the reasons that the Senju clan could stand against the Uchiha clan. The Senju didn't specialize in any one type of technique and were difficult to fight because of that. They also weren't anywhere near as arrogant as the Uchiha.

From what she did know, the Senju had started training their members to resist genjutsu and hypnotism by somehow training their eyes to 'see through them'. She wasn't completely sure how it worked but she heard that the Shodai and Nidaime were rather well versed in this obscure training. 'Ray-san and I may have to make some trips to the Hokage library and the Senju library. Perhaps Ray-san can twist Sarutobi-san's arm into letting us look through those texts and scrolls.' Since the Senju clan had only one remaining member, the clan no longer had a compound. Also the Senju didn't even have a large compound like the rest of the clans during the beginnings of the village.

Unlike several of the other clans that were labeled as 'noble' in the village, the Senju didn't marry into the clan and after so many generations and several shinobi wars, the clan had branched out so much that only one true Senju actually remained. Others may exist but the records have been lost or they moved out of the village. Shakky had long suspected that Minato had been a lost descendant of the Senju clan because it was so rare for a civilian born child to achieve that level skill and prowess in the ninja world. Shakky didn't discriminate, but few civilian children who became ninja could achieve an S-ranked status or become kage. Nearly every kage or S-ranked ninja in elemental nations had at least one direct relative that was also a ninja or had extensive ninja training.

'Children like Minato don't usually just pop up out of the blue, and if they do, after some checking, it was usually determined that they had ninja ancestry. Of course Minato did have a lot of help in the form of his wife Kushina...and perhaps that pervert Jiraiya.' thought Shakky with a small smile.

After a final deep inhale and exhale of her cigarette, she put it out and headed back to the house. 'I just need to take care of the person following me.' thought Shakky as she noticed when she left the house that she was being followed. Her shadow clone had already taken care of the first one when he left while the other stayed to continue watching her. The first had most likely left to report their preliminary findings to whoever they worked for. Her clone had already stopped by the Sandaime's office and dropped that one off. The masked ninja wasn't one of the Hokage's ANBU but was dressed very similar. When he ran off, he was headed to the Hokage Monument. Now the second one would be captured as well. As Shakky started walking off, she turned to where the second ninja was watching her and waved.

The hiding ninja new he had been found out and turned to leave, only to confront two of the white cloaked ANBU members. The cloak signified that they were ANBU captains and the unknown ninja didn't stand a chance. Shakky smiled as she saw several leaves fall from the tree that her stalker had been sitting in and she continued to make her way back to the house. Two blurs left the tree heading towards the Hokage tower with one blur appearing larger than the other, as if carrying something.

x-x

Hokage Tower

x-x

"They both killed themselves?" asked the Sandaime in a serious voice at the information he had just been given by Yamanaka Inoichi, the head ANBU Torture and Interrogation division. "Unfortunately yes, Hokage-sama. They both had a hidden capsule in one of their teeth and the poison was very fast acting. We couldn't even get an ANBU medic into the cell before they died. They didn't have any identifying marks on them or anyway to tell their village affiliation. Their equipment was standard ninja surplus that you can buy anywhere. The only item that they did have were these specially made tantos'; they're double-edged, but without a tip." stated Inoichi while he showed a photograph of the weapon.

'A tip-less tanto isn't much to go on though,' thought the Hokage. The blade was devoid of any markings, much like all ninja tools. Some weapons used by ninja were made inside the village but others were made by larger manufacturers. They had all stopped putting any labels or logos on their weapons because an individual weapon could be traced back to a particular village due to the fact that each village had different makers and suppliers. It used to be possible to determine a ninja's affiliation by the equipment they used. Nowadays there were millions of kunai and shuriken in circulation and they could be thrown and picked up by many different people. It was still possible if the weapon was unique but there was also the possibility that the weapon was planted to make it look like some other group/village was responsible. All in all, it was nearly impossible to determine anything from what weapons someone was carrying, unless they were very unique or one of a kind.

"Try and find who makes those weapons and if you find out anything else, let me know." said the Hokage. "Hai, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said as he left the folder with the information with the Hokage and exited the office.

'From what Shakky said, one of them was heading to the Hokage Monument. The ANBU checked throughout the monument but found nothing. From what it seems, either someone was trying to find and kidnap Naruto, or Danzo hasn't disbanded his root forces like I ordered him to years ago.' thought the Hokage with a heavy sigh and rubbing his beard.

'Since there's no evidence of Danzo's involvement, I can't do anything. Although, this does present an opportunity.' thought the Hokage as the wheels in his mind were turning.

Naruto wasn't supposed to be kept at a secure facility for an extended period of time because of the original agreements of the council after his birth. He was supposed to stay in the orphanage until he was old enough to live on his own. The only reason he wasn't at the orphanage was because of the perceived threat that someone could be looking for information on the boy and an attempted kidnapping. Shakky had already confessed to all of the crimes but he wasn't going to tell the council that.

This new development presented an opportunity for Naruto to stay where he was and keep his location a secret from everyone. 'I'll have to be more careful from now on when I visit Naruto. Someone must have followed me or seen me when I visited the house and guessed that it was where Naruto was being held.' thought the Hokage sadly. He would have to find a better way to visit in the future and talk with Rayleigh and Shakky.

All he had to do right now was write a report about what happened and alter it to suit his needs. He knew that eventually someone in the council, probably Danzo, would start questioning as to the location of Naruto and before that was even brought up, 'I'll present this report to the council and it will take care of everything.' thought the Hokage with a smile.

He had eventually warmed up to the thought of Rayleigh and Shakky taking care of Naruto. It was far better than the neglect he would have received and he would have someone to take care of him and the Hokage did have Naruto's interests at heart, despite his initial mistake of telling the village about his burden. He regretted that almost as much as his failure to stop Orochimaru.

He also hoped Naruto would be able to cope with Rayleigh's eventual death. He had told the Sandaime that he didn't think he had more than eight years before he would die and the Sandaime was well aware of the ability of people from Uzushio to tell when their natural death was approaching, if they managed to live that long. He remembered the day that Mito-sama had come to tell him that a new container would have to be chosen because her death was approaching. Hopefully Naruto would be able to make many good memories until that time came.

But that would be years away and in the meantime, the Sandaime had a report to exaggerate and a council to deceive. For once he was actually enjoying his paperwork.

x-x

Council Meeting, sometime later that week

x-x

"...now the last item that I would like to address was an infiltration of the village by two unknown shinobi, earlier this week." the Hokage said in a serious and calm voice despite the magnitude of the information that he just provided the council seated around him.

"Another infiltration? Wasn't security just increased across the village?" asked Hyuuga Hiashi in an emotionless voice. "What the hell! How bad is our village security!" stated Inuzuka Tsume in an aggravated tone. Several head nodded in agreement to the questions and the Sandaime continued at the look of expectancy from his audience.

"Yes, security was increased. That is why these two were captured before they could leave the village or make contact with anyone else, unlike the previous incident several months ago. The two unknown shinobi were caught spying on a safe-house in the village and the ninja who have been posted there. After they were captured, they promptly killed themselves before we could interrogate them. We currently don't have any leads as to the affiliation of these two shinobi." the Sandaime said while mentally smiling at the stunt he was going to pull, while the tension was rising in the council.

Several people looked confused at the mention of a safe-house. It was only a select few that realized what the Hokage might be talking about. "As a result of this breach, I have relocated the safe-house as well as its occupant and changed ninja posted to guard it. This information will not be given out to anyone." stated the Hokage as he waited with anticipation for the inevitable question that would complete his newest plan.

"Who was the occupant of the safe-house?" asked Utatane Koharu. 'Oh Koharu, I had a feeling you would be the one to ask. Now to drop the bomb.' thought the Sandaime while keeping a straight face.

"Uzumaki Naruto." said the Hokage in a simple, direct statement, which was met with shock across the table. The only person who did make any movement was of course Danzo. Everyone else seemed to be thinking about terrible scenario's where the village Jinchuuriki was kidnapped and murmuring swept through the table.

While the room was still in minor unrest, the Sandaime noticed that Danzo still hadn't moved at all. He still had his eye open by such a small margin that anyone would think he was asleep, or related to Koharu in some way as she did the same. The Sandaime wasn't sure exactly why but he decided to act on impulse and what his sense of humor was telling him. "All right, settle down. And would someone please wake Danzo, he's fallen asleep again." said the Sandaime while laughing on the inside and trying to keep his face neutral.

To his statement, the single working eye of the man sitting directly across from him opened slowly and stared directly at him and gave him a dull glare. It took the Sandaime quite a bit of effort to not smile or laugh because he found something very funny about the situation. "I've been awake the whole meeting Sarutobi." Danzo said.

"Good, then I won't have to repeat myself. In the mean time, Uzumaki Naruto will be confined to a secure location indefinitely. The location will not be given to anyone and this information will be labeled as an S-rank secret. Unless the subject is brought up by myself, it will not be discussed further by anyone here, at anytime. I trust that you all agree with the decision." said the Hokage seriously while looking around at the members of the table.

Of course the members at the table agreed with what the Sandaime had said. It was rather drastic but since only the members of the meeting and two ANBU were ever made aware of the existence of a safe-house. This meant that the existence of the Kyuubi container had been discovered by someone outside the village, and they had managed to send ninja to determine his whereabouts in the village. From what the Sandaime revealed, they may have been successful at finding his location, or were just able to find one of the ANBU posted to guard the safe-house.

Once the meeting was adjourned, the Sandaime gave one last serious look at Danzo and knew that he would have to try and figure out where his Root ANBU operation was. Especially considering that he wouldn't disband his program until he was caught. The Sandaime had never been able to find Danzo's headquarters or even a bunker. What he did find previously, were reports of ninja acting outside of his forces. The Sandaime had his own ninja capture many of them and explicitly told Danzo that his program was to disband or he would face charges of treason. Evidently the bandaged man had just gotten better at covering up his operation.

'At least Naruto will have some measure of comfort while he stays at the house. He will only have to leave when he goes to the academy or when he went out into the village. Preferably under supervision.' thought the Sandaime. He had wanted Naruto to try and make friends or at least interact with children his age as he got older. The current situation, that he helped cause, didn't help with that wish but was preferred over having the boy stay at the orphanage and eventual live on his own. Unfortunately, even Rayleigh and Shakky weren't sure what to do about integrating Naruto into the village and neither was the Sandaime.

They weren't sure how easily he would be recognized or what other peoples reaction to him would be. The children shouldn't know anything about Naruto because of the Sandaime's law concerning Naruto and the Kyuubi, but as Shakky had stated after he told them about the law, "It doesn't stop them from keeping their children away from Naruto. They just won't tell them that he is the container of the Kyuubi." The Sandaime did unfortunately agree with her reasoning and he couldn't make unreasonable laws to make the population treat Naruto nicely.

Hopefully, people would start to move on with there lives and by the time Naruto was in the academy, but that may be too much to ask for. The Sandaime was not deaf to the whisperings of the villagers and he knew what the majority of the village thought of the boy. He didn't even need his crystal ball to see what they thought of the blonde child.

Please Review


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

x-x

Chapter IV: The beginning

AN: **Naruto is now two years old**

"...and the majority of the jutsu that he uses are water based." Shakky told the young blonde haired boy sitting on her lap as she read from a book to him. Naruto was still learning how to read but Shakky was very patient with him when they practiced during the day while she read to him at night.

"Shakky...its great that your reading to him every night, but does it have to be from a Bingo book?" said Rayleigh in a tired voice. It had been a busy day and he was about ready to be reacquainted with his bed but the other two occupants of the house were insistent on a bedtime story.

"But Naruto-chan loves his stories and it helps to..." she paused and looked toward Naruto to finish her sentence. "...always be informed." the young blonde finished with a smile and Shakky nodded in agreement while also smiling and ruffling his hair.

Rayleigh sweat-dropped at this exchanged and added, "Those aren't stories Shakky, there ninja and missing-nin profiles. At least read him something better before bed-time."

"Fine Ray-san, its not like I was reading him the Kiri Bingo book." she quipped. Picking up Naruto off her lap and setting him on the couch. Shakky got up and went to Minato's study. Shakky wasn't interested in the childrens' books that Naruto had and wanted something more interesting. Browsing the shelves she came across a set a five novels novels.

Shakky wasn't sure if they were something that Minato had or whether they belonged to Rayleigh and he had picked them up on one of his travels. The title on four of the books were all 'The Treasure of One Piece' and that had caught Shakky's eye, as she always liked the idea of treasure and Naruto may like a good adventure story. The other book was entitled 'Tales of the Gutsy Ninja' which was also appropriate and might be interesting.

The books were long enough that it would take weeks if not more time to read through them. 'That is, if they're any good.' Shakky thought and made her way back to the living room. If the books belonged to Minato, then there was a good chance that they would be boring as the man's taste in literature was dull. Kushina didn't have many books to begin with, and the majority were romance novels. If they belonged to Rayleigh, then they were almost guaranteed to be interesting.

"Ray-san, do these books belong to you." came Shakky's voice as she entered the room. Rayleigh looked up from the paper that he was reading and examined them.

"Hmmm...these four look familiar and I think Jiraiya wrote this last one." Shakky looked at the book distastefully after the revelation and Rayleigh had to assure her that it didn't have anything inappropriate in it.

"Ohhhhohoh I remember these books now. I got them off a man decades ago when I fixed his ship for him. He didn't have any money but offered me these books instead. He claimed that they're very old and he found them in a treasure chest, if you can believe a story like that." Rayleigh said with a laugh as he thought of the memory. "I never got around to reading them though. Hmm...how odd. They don't seem to have an author, nor a publication date, or any information besides the title and the story." stated Rayleigh in a perplexed voice as he examined each book. The only markings that he did find was on the inside cover, the books were labeled so you could tell which was first, second, third, and fourth and then the story began in each.

"They're in pretty good shape but I seem to remember leaving them in a storage scroll for a long time and they don't seem to be moldy. 'Treasure of One Piece' huh, it does sound rather interesting. Hopefully it's as good as it sounds, here's the first one" said Rayleigh as he handed the first book in the series to Shakky and began to read.

Shakky's intuition was correct, the tale was rather interesting but she had to stop when she noticed that it was several hours past Naruto's bedtime and he had fallen asleep in her lap. Who would have thought that a story about an idiotic captain who sails the world gathering his crew in search of a legendary treasure would be so enthralling to both child and adult. Shakky barely made a dent in the first book too.

x-x

The following morning

x-x

After waking up before dawn and getting breakfast, Rayleigh took Naruto out into the yard to continue the beginnings of his training. Since Naruto was only two years old, the only training that he could receive was the most basic. Rayleigh had gone through numerous routines of stretching and loosening Naruto's body to prepare his body for later lessons. Naruto also learned several basic stances and katas from basic fighting styles. They also went through the process of learning all of the twelve basic ninja hand-signs. Rayleigh hadn't taught Naruto what they meant yet as he was too young to understand but he had Naruto go through them to get faster and more accurate at making them. Naruto's original attempts were sloppy but that was expected for a child so young just starting out.

Naruto would eventually learn exactly how ninja hand-signs work and about each hand-signs. The twelve signs were used to mold a person's chakra to perform a desired jutsu. The mechanism behind this molding of chakra was a direct result of a an artificially connection/pathway formed when the hands are placed together and chakra flows from the chest, down the arms, and through the hands. Out of every other part of the body, the hands contain the most tenketsu points, which regulate chakra flow. By forming specific hand-signs and connecting or leaving these tenketsu points open or closed, chakra will be molded differently along the artificial pathway created. More complex chakra molding, requires more hand signs. After a great deal of practice, eventually a person can mold the chakra with fewer hand-signs or without any hand-signs as the repetitive use of a jutsu becomes second nature.

Single handed signs can also be used but with a good deal of practice. A person would have to practice and mentally assign the single hand-sign to a specific molding of their chakra. So, instead of not using any hand-signs a person could use a half-sign to designate the molding of their chakra to a specific jutsu as a way of focusing. Jutsu names are also said aloud to focus on the formation of the technique. With practice a person can mentally use the jutsu name instead of shouting it out and announcing to everyone what they are doing. Although most people just stick with the original name for a jutsu, some have changed the names of jutsu to make it easier for them as well as to slightly confuse an enemy, as the jutsu will have the same effect but they won't recognize the name. A select few have even assigned an incorrect name to a specific jutsu. For example the person could be using a earth jutsu but say the well known name of a fire jutsu or something along those lines. This can confuse the enemy but without a great deal of practice, it can confuse the user as well.

Rayleigh had just told Naruto the most basic twelve and included the hand-sign for the shadow clone jutsu which was not one of the original twelve and was specially made for that jutsu. Naruto spent a good deal of time practicing the making of these hand-signs in order to increase his speed and properly form them. In improperly formed hand-sign could mean disaster for the user as the chakra molding could harm or, on rare occasion, kill the user. Rayleigh was going to wait to inform Naruto of the use and importance of these jutsu until he was older and could understand better.

Upon trying to unlock Naruto's chakra, they found that it was already unlocked, possibly the result of the sealing. Rayleigh had started Naruto with very basic chakra exercises. The first of these was to call upon his chakra to get a feel for it, so Naruto would know that it was there. This was accomplished by having Naruto pull on his chakra and bring it forth. After several tries, Naruto was able to bring forth his chakra which manifested in a small spike and a feeling of warmth for him. After much practice, Naruto was able to call forth his chakra much faster than before and would continue the exercise until he could call on it immediately. The second exercise, was to hover a small piece of paper over ones hands. Because of the concentration of tenketsu points in the hand, it was one of the easiest places on the body to call chakra to. Once the chakra was called, Naruto could start hovering the paper above his hand. At first all he managed to get was a slight move, then it jumped, and later he would have it hovering about a quarter of an inch above his hand. This technique was the precursor to the third exercise, the leaf spinning exercise which required more concentration.

Even at age two, Naruto already had chakra reserves of an academy student. It was Rayleigh's goal to keep Naruto practicing chakra techniques of increasing difficulty, in order to properly control his ever-growing reserves. If a person couldn't control their large chakra reserves, then what good was having such large reserves. After Naruto successfully completed the leaf spinning exercise in his hand, Rayleigh had Naruto stick a leaf on his forehead and had him hold the leaf there for as long as Naruto could. Once that was accomplished, Rayleigh had Naruto spin that leaf. After that, Rayleigh started to place one or more leafs on different areas of Naruto's body. At first, Naruto only had a single leaf, but as time went on, Rayleigh added more. Naruto was currently able to attach and spin four leaves to different parts of his body.

Of course, these activities only took up Naruto's morning hours. Rayleigh wasn't harsh but he wasn't easy on Naruto during those hours. As the years passed, Rayleigh planned to work Naruto even harder every year. Rayleigh also told Naruto that if he continued working hard, that he would learn more interesting techniques and perhaps even an E-rank academy jutsu in a few months. Naruto was jumping for joy at this and his young mind had trouble imagining what else would be more interesting than using a nearly invisible force to hover and spin leaves on his body. To Naruto, that was incredible by itself.

After a good lunch, Shakky would take over and start working with Naruto on his reading and writing. Rayleigh had encouraged Naruto to draw and even paint as fun activities which were actually geared towards him learning fuinjutsu in the future. Naruto just thought it was fun to draw and paint. Many of his works were taped to the fridge. After dinner, things would settle down. Shakky would read more of 'The Treasure of One Piece', which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. This usually ended when Naruto started to get drowsy and both guardians would put him to bed.

x-x

Hokage's Office

x-x

While it may seem like the Sandaime was busy with his paperwork, his thoughts didn't concern the budget reports in front of him. They centered on a young blonde child, as his thoughts often had in the two years since the Kyuubi attack. Although the council was told that the safe-house for Naruto was moved and the guards changed, he didn't change anything. The only thing that he did was make sure to not be seen entering the house and make sure that he wasn't followed. That was really the only measure he could take. The boy was growing up nicely and according to Rayleigh and Shakky, he was progressing at a good pace through his learning and basic ninja training.

The only thing that the Sandaime was worried about, was the boys future interaction with the village. The Sandaime wanted Naruto to interact with other children but that extremely difficult. The Sandaime could guarantee that nearly every civilian parent in the village would not want Naruto anywhere near their children.

For some odd reason, it seemed that nearly every head of the ninja clans had a son or daughter that was right around Naruto's age. It was an incredible coincidence that should not have happened without prior planning, but no one else on the council seemed to notice this besides the Sandaime. While the Sandaime knew that at least half of the clan heads did not see Naruto as the Kyuubi, he wasn't positive that they would want to having their children around Naruto, and he couldn't say the same for the other members of the respective clans. The members of any of the ninja clans may not want to be associated with Naruto in any way, shape, or form, despite the clan head not holding anything against the boy. The Sandaime couldn't ask for a clan head to ostracize themselves, or their children, from the rest of their clan, or the village, in order to give Naruto a friend.

Eventually, Naruto would have to go out into the village. Whether for class at the ninja academy or because he would become curious about what was outside of the walls of the yard. The Sandaime couldn't protect him from the hatred of the village, which had not decreased much in the last two years. He had spoken to both guardians about this dilemma but none of them could come up with a definite solution to the problem. They only options that they could come up with had a definite chance of failure.

The first option was to keep Naruto secluded from the village until he would go to the academy. This presented several problems because Naruto wouldn't have any idea how to interact with children his age and he also wouldn't be prepared for the villagers, or perhaps even the teachers at the academy. The Sandaime wasn't naive in thinking that the academy teachers would treat Naruto like the other students.

The second option was to take Naruto into the village every so often, supervised of course, while hiding his facial features (his whiskers). The Sandaime was well aware that the people of the village knew what Naruto looked like, blonde hair and whiskered cheeks, even if they had never seen him. This solution was better than others but eventually people would find out who Naruto was. They couldn't ask the boy to constantly lie about his name while being in the village. Living a double life was one thing for a spy, it was another for a child. It was possible that with this method, Naruto would be able to have interactions with other children, at least until their parents found out who he was. Rayleigh had wanted this option as it offered Naruto some anonymity from the villagers and let him see them with his own eyes while they were unaware of who he was.

The third option was to take Naruto occasionally into the village without hiding anything and let the village see him. This was essentially, throwing him to the dogs but with someone there with him. Neither guardian wanted this option and the Sandaime was loathed to admit that he didn't want it either, despite this being similar to his original plan of leaving Naruto at the orphanage to fend for himself.

Therefore, the only viable options were the first and second. Shakky had wanted the first but Rayleigh wanted the second, as did the Sandaime. They were more inclined to let Naruto see the village and interact with others. Eventually people would find out who he was and he would have to face their ostracism and hatred. If the villagers weren't going to let go of their feelings of the Kyuubi, then their was no point in trying to shelter Naruto. No matter what, Naruto would have to face them eventually if he wanted to go to the academy and be a shinobi of the village, which was the only career option open to him. Naruto was virtually a prisoner of the village. He couldn't leave and had to stay, but nearly everyone hatted him in the village and wanted him to leave.

Of course none of these plans would be implemented right away. The Sandaime wanted to wait at least a year or two before Naruto would be able to leave the house and yard while under supervision. Both Shakky and Rayleigh were also planning on telling Naruto of his burden at some point in the near future. The Sandaime was completely opposed to this but after two looks from the boys guardians, he quickly realized that he really couldn't do anything about it. The law he made concerning Naruto only applied to citizens of Konoha and both guardians were citizens of Fire Country but not Konoha. Thus, they could tell him against the Sandaime's wishes. If it were up to the Sandaime, he wouldn't tell Naruto until after he graduated from the academy, but Rayleigh and Shakky had different ideas and they wanted to tell Naruto much earlier.

Rayleigh had also brought up another valid point about Naruto. Technically, the boy was the last of his clan and therefore the heir of the Uzumaki clan in addition to being the sun of a kage. According to the laws concerning the ninja clans, which were set up during the founding of the leaf village, this gave Naruto many privileges in the village. Naruto also had several privileges, which Rayleigh was happy to point out, that were made when the two villages, Uzushio and Konoha, agreed to an alliance. Of course, only a select few in the village could even remember the Uzumaki clan to begin with but the laws remained active regardless.

According to the clan laws, Naruto was to be considered a shinobi, even though he was still a civilian, under the pretense of eventually restarting his clan in the village. This meant that if Naruto got himself into trouble, the punishment was decided and given by the Hokage and the clan heads of the village and not the civilians. It also meant that Naruto could apply for the clan restoration act in the future and have multiple wives. Both the Hokage and Rayleigh had adopted rather blushed faces at that revelation as they sat at the Hokage's desk and read over the laws. It was something for Naruto to think about in the future. There were other trivial laws concerning the making of a clan house, making someone a vassal of his clan or adoption people into his clan, the duties required of the heir of the clan, appointing someone to oversee clan business for Naruto until he was old enough, and the possibility of being a clan head and attending the council meetings.

According to the laws concerning the alliance between villages, Naruto, or any Uzumaki clan member for that matter, had dignitary/ambassador status while he was in Konoha. Apparently the opposite was also true. Any Senju clan member who was in Uzushio, had dignitary/ambassador status. That news had surprised both men, as neither had ever heard of that law. That meant that Naruto, as well as Shakky and Rayleigh were all supposed to be treated as ambassadors while in the village of Konoha. If any one of them committed a crime, then according to the law, they were to be extradited back to Uzushio for a punishment by the current leader of the Uzumaki clan or the leader of the village. The same was also true for the Senju clan while staying in Uzushio. This law was apparently made to prevent hostilities between the villages and preserve the alliance and friendship between the two related clans. It was also put in place as a show of good faith on both the Senju and Uzumaki clan heads.

The law made no mention of whether or not either village still need to exist in order for the law to still be in affect. It also had to be followed considering that it was one of the founding laws of the village. Those laws couldn't be overturned or ignored by the clan heads, the village elders, or the Hokage. The laws upon which the leaf village was founded couldn't be easily changed either. The Fire Daimyo allowed for Konoha to be independent of Fire Country and to make it's own laws. The founding laws of the village were agreed upon by the clans of the village and the Fire Daimyo at that time. In order to change those law, the consent of the current Fire Daimyo was needed along with the consent of the entire ninja council and Hokage. It was a long process and a dignitary of the village, which Naruto was, couldn't be held by the village for a long period of time and had to be sent back to their corresponding village.

Therefore, if Naruto, Shakky, or Rayleigh had to use that law, there wasn't anything that could be done. By the time the law was changed, if it had been changed, they would have long since been sent back to Uzushiogakure. Rayleigh had a good and long laughing fit about the whole business. The man knew that there were some laws in place concerning Naruto but he never dreamed that they would be considered dignitaries while staying in Konoha. The Sandaime merely shook his head while trying to either frown or smile at the situation

Of course the news was definitely good for Naruto as it gave more protection for Naruto if anything happened between him and the villagers. It also meant that if anyone harmed the boy, Naruto would be considered as a shinobi of the village as well as a dignitary. It didn't seem to matter that Uzushio no longer existed or that Naruto was living in the village. If, Kami forbid, Naruto ever committed a serious crime or was possibly framed for a crime, then he would have to be extradited to a village that no longer existed and wouldn't receive any punishment for his actions. At some point they would have to tell the boy about this law, in addition to the village clan laws.

'I just hope Naruto never has to use those old village laws concerning the Uzumaki clan.' thought the Sandaime sadly as he never wanted to have the boy extradited from the village.

x-x

Uzumaki Estate

x-x

"Oh, welcome back to our humble abode madam ambassador." said Rayleigh in a very polite tone while giving a slight mock-bow to Shakky as she entered the front gate of the yard. Shakky merely smiled back as the two had been having a running joke about their ambassador status for a while now. Naruto didn't really understand the joke but smiled because he was happy to see Shakky come back. She had left two days ago to check up on her bar and just now returned.

Smiling was about the only thing that Naruto could do at the moment because he was laying with his back to the ground while breathing heavily. He and Rayleigh had been doing some very light sparring, meaning that Naruto had been charging in to attack and his sensei had been nimbly dodging for at least an hour. Rayleigh didn't even need to try and block or fight back because of the level that Naruto was currently at. Rayleigh was trying to teach Naruto one of the most basic ninja lessons: why it wasn't a good idea to charge in at an opponent that you knew nothing about, and that was enormously stronger than you, without any prior planning or thought to help you. All in all, it really annoyed Naruto that he couldn't seem to even get near his teacher and he was slowly learning the lesson.

"So, what have you learned today Naruto-kun?" the bearded man asked the panting blonde child, who was still the ground in front of him.

"That...your...a big meany." said Naruto in between panting while glaring at his teacher.

Rayleigh eyed the boy with a raised eyebrow then laughed and said, "That really wasn't what I wanted you to learn. It was correct though, but not what I wanted you to learn from this lesson. You should have said something along the lines of, 'I can't possibly defeat you at the level that I'm currently at, Ray-sensei. In the future I will try and plan what I will do first and not charge in like a drunken brawler.' That was really what I was looking for, but you did do a good job today.

You need to start thinking ahead for your fighting. Its better to make some type of plan first before engaging in a fight, and even if the plan works, you should try and have a backup plan or two ready anyway. I don't expect you to have an elaborate plan or plans at this point in your training but you need to start thinking about 'how should I fight this opponent?' and not 'I'm gonna charge in and punch this guy.' If you start planning ahead now, then you'll be better prepared when you have techniques and jutsu to use in the future. Now go in and wash up for lunch." said Rayleigh and Naruto picked himself up, dusted off the grass, and went inside.

"So, hows the bar?" Rayleigh asked Shakky. "Fine as always Ray-san. I found someone else to work for me and she's not half bad." replied Shakky calmly. Since they had started taking care of Naruto, Shakky had already had several different people looking after her bar until she would be able to come back, which probably wouldn't be until Naruto was four or five.

'I wonder who she blackmailed into running her place this time?' thought Rayleigh.

x-x

Shakky's Rip-off Bar

x-x

"THE HELL! I AIN'T PAYING THIS MUCH JUST FOR FOOD AND SOME SAKI." a man shouted to the woman tending the bar as he thrust the receipt back at her. The woman just glared back and pushed the receipt back at him. The man seemed to get more angry at the gesture but stopped when he thought of something.

"Well,I won't pay unless I get a little something 'extra'." he added while looking down at the woman's impressive bust with a perverted leer.

The woman's previous glare turned into an outright sneer, accompanied by a growl. Before the man knew what happened he had been hit by an incredibly strong right hook that seemed to screech through the air. The fist struck with a resounding 'SMACK' and he hurtled off his stool with his body acting like a rag-doll. He smacked into the floor once before going through the double doors of the establishment and his body could be heard skidding to a stop outside in the grass. The blonde haired woman stared at her work with a satisfied expression and yelled for her assistant, "SHIZUNE!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." came the response of another woman who entered the main room of the bar through the door to the supply room while carrying a pig in her arms. Upon entering, Shizune realized what had happened and frowned at the buxom blonde. "Tsunade-sama, did you have to beat up another one?"

"Its not my fault Shizune. He was a complete pig, no offense Ton-Ton, and you know that we have to follow the rules that she set for us and run her place like she demanded." Tsunade stated in defense to her actions. Both woman, and pig, shivered slightly at the mentioning of the woman they were working/slaving for.

After a brief moment, Tsunade said, "You better go and get him. Watch out for his hands, he may try to grope you. Then we'll add the medical fee to his bill." and she added, "If he's bleeding, heal him outside and then bring him in." Even after several years, the blonde still hadn't gotten over her hemophobia.

Shizune nodded and went outside to get the latest 'customer'. 'Honestly,' she thought, 'I still can't understand why people still come here. It says rip-off in the name of the bar. What do they expect?' thought the dark haired woman as she made her way to the twitching body.

She still couldn't believe that they had gotten mixed up in this business. Out of the blue, Tsunade had gotten a letter from one of the many people that she had borrowed money from. It stated that they could work off part of their debt if they tended to her bar while she was away. It seemed like a good idea, until they actually met the owner of the bar. In their first hour of being in the establishment, they already owed a significantly larger amount of money to the owner for the food and drink they consumed while talking about the job offer.

Tsunade had heatedly protested and Shizune thought everything was going to be fine but it wasn't. The owner of the bar was a demon in disguise. She didn't even need to use violence to subdue the two. The woman named 'Shakky' seemed to know just about everything about the two. Their current debts, who they owed money too, their darkest secrets, and she threatened to make their lives a living hell unless they worked at her bar while she was away. She would let Konoha know about the debts, leak out secrets about the two, and she even seemed to have a great deal of sway with the Fire Lord. The whole situation was terrible. Tsunade was ready to fight but one look from Shakky had stayed her fists. 'That woman was so scary.' thought Shizune and she shivered.

Since they had been working, Tsunade had managed to rack up far more debt from either consuming some of the Saki or damaging some of the bar from sending the customers flying. Shakky had given them a quota each month for the amount of money they had to make from ripping off the customers that came in. Tsunade really didn't have a problem with it but Shizune had a conscious.

At this point, they would be here for another year before they managed to pay off all the debt they had incurred. 'Unless Tsunade-sama manages to make things worse again. Although she has gotten better with her aim' were the sad thoughts of the poor woman as she healed the newest customer. The only good part about their current arrangement was that Tsunade didn't have a chance to gamble.

Shizune heard a bird chirping and actually flinched. Shakky had informed both of them of her bird summons and that they would always be watching them. Ever since then, Shizune had noticed many birds flying around the bar or just sitting on a nearby branch and watching her. She had nightmares about it which centered around being chased down by birds and being attacked by birds. Slowly she was developing a fear of birds and the woman that summoned them. She also couldn't tell the difference between just regular birds and some of Shakky's summons.

'This is horrible. Its like a prison in this bar. Tsunade-sama can't even help us. We were only supposed to be here for three months, but we may never be able to leave! Kami-sama, please save us from that woman and her birds.' Shizune thought sadly while crying. Ton-Ton gently nuzzled against her thigh as she finished healing the customer. He was afraid of the birds too.

x-x

back at the Uzumaki Estate

x-x

Rayleigh shivered after the thought he had. 'Perhaps its best not to know who she swindled into running her bar. Who ever it is, deserves a great deal of sympathy.'

"Are you alright Ray-san? You spaced out there for a few seconds." said Shakky in an unconcerned voice.

Rayleigh cleared his throat and answered with a fake smile, "I'm perfectly fine. Let's go inside. I'm sure my shadow clone is finished with lunch and then you can work with Naruto-kun for the afternoon."

Please Review


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

x-x

Chapter V: Making friends is hard but the henge is easy

AN: **Naruto is now three years old**

Rayleigh sighed as he rested on the couch in the family room. The plans that had been made to get Naruto integrated into the village and to try and get the boy to play with others, hadn't worked. Well, that wasn't true. The boy had been fine when they walked around the village. Naruto's blue eyes had darted this way and that while trying to take in every sight there was to see in the village. This had only gone well for the first week. After that it seemed that they had been figured out.

Naruto had worn a face mask (just like Kakashi wears, only a very dark green) to hide his whisker marks. Naruto had been excited to receive the mask and wore it without a problem. Of course it took a little adjustment to get used to the mask but Naruto thought it was very cool. Everything had been fine until it was discovered that he was the Kyuubi container. After that, they couldn't walk in public without people whispering or dirty looks from the majority of the people they passed. A couple people had even yelled at Naruto and thrown things. It had been terrible for Rayleigh to watch as the boy tried to understand why he was being given dirty looks. The boy's keen ears seemed to also pick up some of what they were saying and before Naruto had a chance to ask any questions, Rayleigh had maneuvered them on a path home. When no one was around, he then used the body flicker technique to take them home as fast as possible.

The problem had been much the same when Naruto had tried to make friends in the park. Everything was fine for the first week, but after people, specifically parents, suddenly found out who he was they started taking their children away from Naruto when he was in the park. Both Rayleigh and Naruto could hear the parents telling their children to stay away from him. Even the parents that were ninja and from the ninja clans had done the same. One adult had even come up to Rayleigh and wanted to know how he could even stand being near that 'monster'. This individual was currently in intensive care at the hospital. 'That incident definitely hadn't gone over well with Sarutobi.' thought Rayleigh about his dealing with the individual who had accosted him.

After informing the Hokage of the attitude of the villagers and how easily they had figured out who Naruto was, the Sandaime had actually had a couple of his ninja do some investigating but none of his ninja seemed to be able to find where this information had come from. The information had spread so rapidly and been passed to so many people in a single day, that it was impossible to tell who had started it. Despite the Sandaime's law about not talking about Naruto, that was all that people seemed to be doing. Wild rumors had even started spreading that Naruto was disfigured in some way underneath his mask or had the face of a fox. Everyone in the trio of elderly guardians had started to regret giving the boy the mask but Naruto refused to part with it as he liked wearing it.

Naruto had been asking several questions about what had happened and had even cried over the loss of the children that he had been playing with mere days before. 'That was a terrible day.' thought Rayleigh. He had to come up with something to tell Naruto as he really couldn't tell the boy the whole truth at the moment and wanted to wait a little longer. On the other hand, he didn't want to just lie to Naruto as Rayleigh felt that the boy did have the right to know what he was containing. Rayleigh and Shakky had spent much of that day telling Naruto about the Kyuubi and using extremely simple language and examples to try and make sure that Naruto understood that he was really no different than any other child but that the people of the village were very misguided. They also told him about his mother but not about his father being the Yondaime Hokage. They told Naruto who he was and what he was like but not his title.

For the most part, they thought that Naruto had some kind of understanding of what they were telling him. He was just over three years old after all and couldn't be expected to understand something so complex as sealing a Biju or what fuinjutsu and Biju were. In the end, after much questioning, a little more crying, and a lot of hugs from those that cared for him, Naruto had a basic knowledge of why he was treated like he was. Both guardians also agreed to tell Naruto more in-depth about everything when he was a little older and could understand. The also let Naruto know that no matter what the villagers thought of him, that they would never think badly of him and that there were a select few in the village who believed that he was a hero.

They had even used several examples from the One Piece novels that they had been reading to help him understand. Even though the pirates in the book, specifically the Straw Hat Crew, were not liked by the marines or civilians because they were pirates, they were still good people and you just had to get to know them to find out. That reference had probably helped Naruto the most as he loved those books and the characters in them. He could make the connection a lot better that even though people in the village disliked him, there was nothing wrong with him.

They had already finished reading the series and read the Gutsy Ninja. While Naruto did like the ninja book, because his name was the main character, he still really liked the One Piece novels and he was determined to be able to start reading them by himself. At his current reading level though, that was going to take a little time. His studies were coming along nicely and they, along with his ninja training were the major highlights in Naruto's life. Now that he wouldn't be going outside much, until he was perhaps a little older and could handle the villagers, Naruto had more time for training.

Naruto had already decided that he wanted to be as strong as the characters in One Piece and when asked, Naruto had actually stated that he enjoyed the character of Roronoa Zoro the most. The parts of the books were Zoro was fighting were some of the most exciting for asked why, Naruto said that it would be really cool to wield three swords like Zoro did. His favorite fight was actually when Zoro was fighting Samurai Ryuuma.

Right after that, Rayleigh had started making plans to begin teaching Naruto kenjutsu. Rayleigh's deceased teammate had been quite the swordsman and Rayleigh knew a fair amount about kenjutsu. He wasn't sure how well he could help Naruto learn a three sword style but he would try to teach the boy basic kenjutsu for now.

Shakky hadn't been around nearly as much as the previous year because she did have a business to run and was only present now on Friday through Sunday while Rayleigh was always around. Apparently the people she had running her bar had tried to run off and she had to keep a closer eye on them from now on. She also had several 'businesses' to run on the side of her legitimate business and couldn't spend as much time as she wanted with Naruto.

Before he fell completely asleep, Rayleigh managed to make it upstairs to the room that he was staying in and looked forward to training Naruto in the morning.

x-x

Next Morning, Uzumaki Estate

**x-x**

"But I wanna learn another jutsu." said Naruto while pouting. Rayleigh just rolled his eyes at display.

Naruto had already learned most of the basic jutsu which were for both E and D-rank. He learned the rope escape, the cloak of invisibility, and the basic clone technique. 'I really shouldn't have taught him the clone technique, he tries to create as many as possible and I end up in a yard filled with Naruto-kuns'. I still don't know how he managed to tie himself up tighter in the ropes while trying to escape it with the rope escape technique. I had to use a kunai to get him out of it. At least he finally managed to get that jutsu down. It wouldn't do him any good to try and escape from an enemy and end up tying himself up tighter then they originally did.' mused Rayleigh with a frown that turned into a smile at the last thought.

(AN: Naruto doesn't have much of a problem with the basic clone technique because he has such a little amount of chakra that his control is much better than when he is a genin in canon. He has also been learning chakra control exercises. However, as time goes on, the technique will become harder for him to perform because his chakra reserves increase at such a larger than average rate.)

Rayleigh had already started teaching Naruto to throw shuriken and kunai. 'Though his accuracy leaves something to be desired.' Rayleigh thought as he looked over to one of the practicing posts that he had set up in the yard and noticed that it was unmarked. However, the ground and walls behind, to the sides, and front of it were marked with slashes and divots from thrown weapons that completely missed the mark. 'There pretty wide logs too, and there are three of them positioned together less than a meter apart. He should have at least been able to hit one of them. Even if the weapon didn't hit point first.' thought Rayleigh while shaking his head.

The only techniques left that Rayleigh was willing to teach at this point were the henge and the substitution jutsu. Rayleigh had held off on these because after teaching Naruto the other jutsu, he had begun to question whether Naruto was mature enough to learn the substitution jutsu and the henge. The last thing he needed was Naruto trying to substitute with anything he could find or trying to see how many substitutions he could do in a row. The henge was a similar situation as leaving it up would use up chakra. The jutsu was only meant for short-term usage.

The blonde boy's chakra reserves were nearly low genin level but Naruto's mind was still that of a child. Naruto had already tried to see how many bunshin he could make in one go and Rayleigh had to draw the line somewhere if Naruto was going to start playing with the jutsu he taught him.

It was a problem because Rayleigh didn't have much time left to teach Naruto. If the boy wasn't mentally ready for ninjutsu yet, than there was no point in teaching him. He didn't want to waste any time but he wasn't going to push Naruto's training and development like some of the ninja clans did to their children. 'I'll wait for a couple of months maybe and work on other things in the meantime. Now, I just need something that will keep him interested and busy. Maybe a chakra control exercise or something.

Naruto's chakra control was very good but he had to work on it each day to keep it up. Rayleigh had taught Naruto the basics of how to suppress and bring forth his chakra, in addition to pulsing it. The problem was that Naruto may not be ready yet to start tree climbing and Rayleigh needed a technique that would be interesting to Naruto while still being useful and demanding enough to keep the boy's mind off of more powerful jutsu for a little while.

Of course while Rayleigh was thinking, Naruto assumed he was deciding which jutsu to give him. "Hmm...that might work." Rayleigh mused out-loud and Naruto was instantly wondering what jutsu his sensei may have thought of to teach him.

'It must be an awesome jutsu. I bet it on a much higher level than what I have now.' were the thoughts going through Naruto's head and he couldn't wait to see the jutsu and try it out.

'This should be enough to keep him busy and keep his mind off of jutsu in the mean time.' were the vastly different thoughts going through Rayleigh's mind.

Rayleigh had remembered a rather old and obscure chakra technique that wasn't really taught anymore. No one could definitively say that it was very useful, though some claimed it could not only increase chakra control and reserves but had many other benefits. Most chakra techniques had an endpoint. You mastered the tree walking exercise when you successfully could climb the tree without fault or getting tired. This was the same with the water walking exercise. At that point, most people just stopped practicing with those techniques as regular ninja duties and other training would keep their chakra control at a stable level.

The technique Rayleigh was thinking of was similar to meditation in that it had no point at which you could say, 'I'm finished.' The few ninja that did meditate, and it was a very select few, never reached a point where they completed the exercise. Even monks never reached an endpoint. Rayleigh had already tried teaching Naruto how to meditate, as it was a good technique for a ninja that had several benefits. Unfortuantely, the blonde was so hyper that it was difficult to get him to settle down in one spot. 'Hopefully he will be able to have better success with this technique. I can only hope that Naruto calms down enough in the future that he can properly meditate.' thought Rayleigh.

Those were the main reasons why the technique wasn't normally taught, as it didn't have a completion point and no one could prove it was useful or important to teach. If it was taught, then the student would get bored with it as they could not see any immediate benefit. However, Rayleigh's sensei had believed that it was useful and beneficial to learn. 'And who am I to disagree with Mito-sensei.'

"I won't be teaching you anymore jutsu just yet." stated Rayleigh while smiling and continued before Naruto could start protesting, "However, I do have a moderately difficult technique, with multiple parts, some of which are much more advanced than you are ready for." announced Rayleigh and he could tell that he definitely had Naruto's attention at that point.

"The technique is rather simple to explain and difficult to learn but my sensei believed that it could have great benefits for a ninja if you kept using the exercise to get better and better with it. Now the technique is..." Rayleigh gave a brief pause to be dramatic and continued, "spinning your chakra."

Naruto blinked and stared at the man. "Huh, that's it? Spinning my chakra is this great technique you want to teach me?" asked an exasperated Naruto and Rayleigh nodded while smiling broadly.

Naruto looked dubiously at his sensei and asked, "So you learned this technique and it helped you?"

"Ahh, yeah." responded Rayleigh with fake enthusiasm while thinking, 'I only remember spending about a day trying to learn the technique before I gave up on it, but Mito-sensei was convinced that it was useful. Though I still don't see how.'

"Of course theirs more to the technique than you might think. The first step is to try and spin your chakra inside of your body. After you accomplish that, then you try to spin it faster while tightening the spiral so that it gets smaller. The goal is really to get it spinning as fast as possible while having as tight a spiral as possible. That part is a rather difficult exercise but it gets even harder when you try and change the direction that your chakra is spinning. You see, normally a person's chakra naturally spins in one direction while it is far more difficult to spin in the opposite. Well, that's the exercise that I want you to try. I've been told that this technique can be quite useful, although no one has ever proven that it can do anything to help a ninja.

Supposedly it can increase your chakra reserves, increase your chakra control, help access your chakra easier, possibly even help you mold your chakra for jutsu, and I seem to remember hearing something about making it harder for genjutsu to take hold. Of course that's all just speculation. I also seem to remember an advanced fuinjutsu of Uzushio that required the user to be able to spin their chakra in both directions to cancel out ninjutsu but I'll have to check on that." finished Rayleigh while idly scratching his beard.

"WOW!" was Naruto's wide-eyed response. He had originally thought that this was going to be something stupid but now it was turning out to be an awesome technique. 'Especially if it can do everything that Ray-sensei said it could.' thought Naruto.

Despite Rayleigh using words like 'supposedly' and 'possibly' in addition to stating that it had never been proven to do anything, Naruto had acquired from the explanation that the jutsu was capable of doing all those things. 'I'm totally gonna master that jutsu and work on it as much as I can if it can do all that.'

"I'm gonna master this technique! You just watch!" Naruto yelled and instantly put his hands together in the ram seal, which is the most basic seal to use when gathering chakra, and started to try the technique. His face was scrunched up from concentration and Rayleigh decided to step in and stop the blonde after a couple of minutes.

"Before you get started on the technique, is there anything you want to ask me?" questioned Rayleigh. Naruto stopped his focusing and looked up at his sensei quizzically.

"Umm...how do I spin my chakra?" asked Naruto with a slight blush on his face as he wasn't wearing a mask during his training.

Rayleigh laughed at the boy's expense and asked, "There's another question you should be asking me too. Think back to what I said about the technique and it should come to you."

Naruto spent a moment in contemplation and the answer eventually came, "What direction should I try and spin my chakra?"

Rayleigh smiled at the boy's correct question and began explaining the answers, "To start with your second question, the easiest way to tell which direction a person's chakra naturally spins is to look at their hair."

At Naruto's confused look, Rayleigh's smile widened and he sat down in front of the the boy. "On the top of a persons head, their hair parts and you can see that the part has a direction of either clockwise or counterclockwise." Rayleigh said as he bowed his head so that Naruto could see what he was talking about.

"Your hair parts clockwise, just like mine, so you want to try and spin in a clockwise direction and then eventually switch and try counterclockwise. As for your first question, it is really a matter of finding something to focus on. When you were doing to leaf spinning exercise you had an object to focus on and spun that object with your chakra. What you will be doing on this exercise is different as the chakra won't be exiting your body but you will need something to focus on. I suggest closing your eyes, putting your hands in the ram seal but try not to focus too much as you were doing before. Start off by closing your eyes and feeling your chakra..." and both closed their eyes while Rayleigh continued, "..after you have done that, the best way may be to focus on a single object in your mind. I am going to imagine my chakra as a body of water but you can imagine whatever you want." Naruto imagined the same thing as Rayleigh and listened to his sensei's words as the man continued, "Now, you want to access your chakra and picture it as the object you have imagined and try to make it spin."

While Naruto was attempting the exercise, Rayleigh went and got his lawn chair, brought it over, and sat down. He would give the boy an hour before they switched to working on the basics of kenjutsu which Naruto had requested to learn. While he read the newspaper, Rayleigh did check on Naruto's progress, offering tips and telling the boy about his progress. It took about a half an hour for Naruto to finally get his chakra to start slowly spinning continuously. Naruto had many times where his chakra would start spinning and then he would lose focus. He also stopped trying to move his head in circles. Apparently he thought that would speed up the process of learning the technique and quickly found that it only made him dizzy.

'He seems pretty determined and I think this is the longest I have every gotten him to sit still in one place. Not counting when Shakky or I read those pirate books to him. If he calms down enough while he is focusing, it might even be counted as meditating. Perhaps with time he won't need to focus so much and he can get some of the benefits of meditation while still working with his chakra.' Rayleigh smiled at the thought that the technique might actually turn out to be useful in different ways. 'Maybe I shouldn't have stopped with the exercise. I may have gotten some benefit from it, even if it wasn't what Mito-sensei claimed it was. I'm definitely going to have Naruto keep practicing with technique whenever he can. Now I can start focusing more on his physical and mental training rather than his chakra control and jutsu. Of course that assumes that Naruto doesn't lose interest in this technique and the exercise does what it's supposed to do.' Rayleigh mused.

Little did Rayleigh know that his sensei was actually correct and the simple chakra technique had many benefits that would eventually emerge for Naruto as the boy was determined to master the technique.

x-x

Uzumaki Estate, several hours later

x-x

Both child and sensei were currently standing in the kitchen and Naruto was looking very confused. They had come in from kenjutsu practice and Rayleigh had walked him into the kitchen for his next lesson. To Naruto it didn't make much sense why they would be in the kitchen for his next lesson. The only thing that Rayleigh had said was that, 'they were starting something new today.'

At the time Naruto was excited, but now he was just confused.

"I bet you want to know what we are doing in the kitchen, right?" Naruto nodded to his sensei's question.

"Well, the purpose of this exercise is to help you develop a better memory and observation skills. Which are very important for a ninja." Rayleigh added the last sentence to keep Naruto from questioning him.

"Now, I am going to open the door to the pantry. Your job is to recognize and memorize exactly what is in the pantry, and on which shelf, before I close the door. After the door is shut, you will tell me exactly what you were able to memorize. You will definitely have trouble at first but eventually you should be able to tell me nearly every item in the pantry and what shelf it is on." stated Rayleigh and looked to see that the blonde boy had understood his explanation. "Are you ready?" asked Rayleigh and Naruto nodded with enthusiasm.

Rayleigh speedily opened the door to pantry and the second it was fully open, he closed the door just as fast as he opened it. Naruto for his part just stood there with his mouth slightly open and immediately thought that his sensei was trying to play a prank on him.

"So, tell me what you saw in the pantry" Rayleigh stated with a smile.

"What was that! You opened it for not even a second! How am I supposed to tell what was in there?"

Rayleigh shook his head slightly which Naruto started to feel guilty about. "This is a very important skill for a ninja, to be able to observe and recognize the situation at hand with a moments notice and also to memorize what they see. I didn't expect you to be able to tell me anything right now but after we go through some memorization techniques and increase your observational skills, you should be able to tell me everything in that pantry at just a glance. I will also be locking the pantry to make sure you can't get in it beforehand and memorize whats there. After you complete this task, I will increase the difficulty. The next thing I want you to do is to look around this level of the house and tell me what has changed since this morning?" said Rayleigh to the young blonde.

Naruto looked around the house (the kitchen isn't really separated from the family room because of an open floor-plan so Naruto can see around most of the first floor of the house, except for the study.) and tried to notice anything that was out of place but he didn't find anything. Rayleigh merely nodded and understood that Naruto didn't find anything.

While they were both outside, Rayleigh's shadow clone had gone to the grocery store and after coming back had moved several items in the first floor of the house. Rayleigh hadn't expected Naruto to notice but now the boy would try to make an effort to notice.

"I didn't expect you to notice anything at this point, so you don't need to feel so sad about it. Observation is another important skill for a shinobi. A simple discrepancy in the surroundings can mean the difference between being trapped in a genjutsu, setting off a trap, or perhaps an ambush and could be the difference between life and death. Of course you will get better at this, especially since we will be working on both exercises everyday to improve your skills." stated Rayleigh trying to cheer up Naruto. His words did cheer up Naruto to some degree but he still felt guilty that he failed to accomplish anything in the exercises.

Naruto was going to try as hard as he could to work on his ninja skills and the techniques that his sensei was teaching him. He definitely wanted to get as strong as the people he had read about in the pirate stories and he had a sensei who was trying to teach him as much as possible. 'I won't disappoint you sensei. I'll learn everything that you have to teach me and more. I won't give up, ever. I promise.' thought Naruto to himself with renewed determination as sensei and student ate lunch together.

That had actually been one of the things that Rayleigh had taught Naruto when they started his training. His sensei had several sayings that Naruto had taken to heart, though one still confused him:

(AN: I didn't get the two first sayings from anywhere, I actually made them up on the spot when I wrote the chapter, so I am claiming ownership of them. Hopefully they aren't too similar to anything else that has been written)

"The only people in the world that can be considered as failures, are the ones that don't try. If a person gets back up and works hard, then they can never be considered a failure. No matter how many times they try and fail."

"A person can be called weak by others, but in reality it doesn't mean anything. Only if a person believes themselves to be weak, then that is what they will be. If they believe in themselves and work hard, then they will get stronger. Even if it is just a little bit at a time."

"A woman's intuition can be a scary thing."

Naruto still didn't understand the last one. He also knew that Rayleigh had been talking specifically about Shakky when he said it. 'What does intuition even mean? Does he think that Shakky-bachan is scary?' thought Naruto idly while eating his meal. He'd have to ask Rayleigh later.

(AN: I believe that the honorific Naruto gives to Shakky is for Aunt and not grandmother, hopefully I did it right. He's pretty much calling her Aunty Shakky)

x-x

Uzumaki Estate, one months later, during the weekend (when Shakky is there)

x-x

"And those are the proper seals for the henge no jutsu." finished Rayleigh, as he went over the basics of the jutsu with Naruto.

Naruto had made great progress in just a single month and Rayleigh felt that he should reward the boy with the transformation jutsu. The blonde was able to spot at least one or two objects that had been moved by Rayleigh in the first floor of the house and tell Rayleigh several items in the pantry though he was only able to look at a single shelf. Naruto had also made progress with the chakra technique and was able to spin his chakra pretty fast and his spiral was slowly getting tighter. Naruto was also trying to spin his chakra in the opposite direction but with limited success.

Rayleigh was surprised and proud that Naruto had not only stuck with the chakra spinning technique but was constantly trying to get better with it. Naruto's focus had improved enough during his practice with the technique that he was actually meditating while spinning his chakra and would practice for at least an hour of more each day. Rayleigh had even discovered Naruto using the technique when he took a break in-between his lessons. It was this hard work and progress that had shown Rayleigh that Naruto was ready for the remaining academy level jutsu.

Naruto was already going through the hand seals of his new jutsu and said, "Henge no jutsu." The results were as Rayleigh had expected for a first try, only much funnier.

The silver haired man couldn't hold in his laughter, "ZAHAHAHAHAHA...SHAKKY YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS." No sooner had said woman come out of the house then she too started laughing along with Rayleigh.

Naruto had attempted to turn into the Sandaime. The venerable Hokage regularly visited and did give Naruto some advice while checking in on him. Though Naruto had gotten the height correct and the clothing, including the hat, the face was completely deformed. This 'Hiruzen' had buggy eyes and a very long, pointed nose and for some reason a perverted smile with very fat lips. The beard was overgrown and the liver spots were much larger and oddly shaped. Naruto had even given him a pipe.

Naruto pouted at the laughing of his guardians and of course that meant that 'Hiruzen' pouted as well which made them laugh more. Eventually the laughing started to die down and Rayleigh's had stopped completely when he smelled something. He smelled pipe smoke. 'Sarutobi was here yesterday but that smell couldn't be lingering around still.' Rayleigh thought and followed the smell to the transformed 'Hiruzen'. Shakky hadn't noticed yet and followed Rayleigh to inspect the blondes henge of the Hokage. It wasn't until she saw Rayleigh serious face and noticed that he was carefully and meticulously looking the transformed blonde over that she thought something was wrong.

The smell was stronger now that Rayleigh was closer to Naruto and the only thing that he could think of was, 'How did Naruto produce the pipe smoke? Now that I am closer, this person even smells like Sarutobi; pipe smoke, paper, and ink.'

While Rayleigh was deep in thought about the scent, Shakky noticed something that he hadn't. The robes of this Hokage were actually moving slightly in the breeze that came through the yard. 'A henge shouldn't be able to move like that unlike the user is focusing and making it move.' she thought. The henge was meant to place a very thin layer of chakra over the user that could hide the user as an object or a person. The layer either mimicked the contours of the persons body, in which case it required less focus and the user could move, or it was projected a very short distance away from the user which required more focus to keep up and made it impossible to move while the technique was still up.

To have a part of the henge be able to move in the breeze would require a great deal of concentration and training because the henge shouldn't be affected by a breeze and the user would have to will the jutsu it to move in tandem with the breeze. No beginner should have that kind of skill or focus. Most experienced shinobi never developed that kind of attention to detail or skill with the henge.

Shakky was broken from her thoughts when she saw what Rayleigh was doing. "Ray-san, are you smelling him?"

Rayleigh was broken from his sniffing of the false Hokage and said, "Huh...ohh, yes actually. I can't believe it Shakky but he actually smells like Sarutobi-san. Pipe smoke and all. Have you ever heard of anyone producing a scent with a Henge? Its rather strange." Shakky's eyes widened at that information.

The henge wasn't supposed to mimic scent which was why it could be fooled by ninja trained in tracking as well as ninken (ninja dogs). Shakky had never heard of a henge producing scent before as the henge couldn't even hide the scent of the user. 'That brings up an interesting question.' she thought and voiced her thoughts.

"If he smells like Hiruzen-san, can you still smell Naruto-chan?"

Rayleigh blinked and went back to smelling the now slightly freaked out henged child. Naruto didn't know what was going on. First his guardians had laughed at his attempts at the henge and now they were being all serious, 'Did I mess up the technique? What's going on? Now there smelling me.' the blonde thought.

After Rayleigh had determined that he couldn't smell Naruto's original scent over that of the Hokage, Naruto decided to voice his opinion, "I don't understand, what's going on." however, instead of the voice of a child, his voice sounded just like the old Hokage.

Both guardians stared at him and Shakky finally noticed the deformed face of the Sandaime was nearly in tears. "Don't worry Naruto-chan, we were just taken aback your henge. While you need work on fixing the face to better match that of the Hokage, your jutsu is very advanced in other areas and incredible for a first try. Now, go into the bathroom and continue practicing the jutsu while looking in the mirror. You'll probably notice why we were laughing. Ray-san and I just need to talk about some things."

The henged boy's fears were assuaged and he went into the house to seek out the mirror and keep practicing. Both adults noticed that the boy even seemed to match the Hokage's mannerisms and the way that he walked. Once Naruto had entered the house, they were finally able to get out of their stupor and talk to one another.

"Did you hear that, he sounded just like Sarutobi and he hasn't even had any lessons to change his voice yet? Amazing." Rayleigh said while chuckling.

"When he was walking into the house, did you notice his robes and they way they naturally moved around him?" asked Shakky and Rayleigh nodded at that, both were blown away at the henge that Naruto had used. Of course the face still needed work.

Their musings were broken by the loud laughter of the Hokage coming out of the house, apparently Naruto had looked at himself in the mirror. Both guardians just smiled at that.

"What exactly did Naruto-chan do? Did he mess up the seals or something?"

"I don't quite know. He executed the jutsu perfectly and I don't understand what happened myself. When he's done having fun and trying to fix the face, we better get him out here and try to figure out what he did do." answered Rayleigh.

x-x

Hours later, Naruto is in bed

x-x

Shakky, Rayleigh, and Hiruzen were sitting in the living room and discussing there discoveries during the day concerning Naruto's henge. None of them could believe just what they had found out when they had Naruto experiment with it.

"Can you..." started Rayleigh and he was cut off by Shakky, "No Ray-san, we still can't believe what Naruto-chan's henge is capable of doing." The Sandaime just smiled and shook his head. The old Hokage was also in disbelief at just what Naruto had been able to do. They were all still thinking about it. In all his years, he had only ever encountered one individual that could use a henge like Naruto could and that was his summons, the Monkey King Enma.

After the initial discovery, Shakky had sent one of her birds to tell Hiruzen that he should come to the house to get a third opinion about what Naruto was doing with a simple academy jutsu. The Hokage was only too happy to leave his paperwork behind. Of course he wasn't thrilled when Naruto performed his just and turned into the Sandaime with a deformed face. "You brought me all the way here to see this." he had said with a deadpan expression to the pair.

The Sandaime's initial thoughts were forgotten when they told him about what they had already found about the Naruto's jutsu. After a number of tests, they had determined several things. It didn't seem to matter if the hand seals for the jutsu were switched or changed with others, Naruto was still able to perform the jutsu no matter the hand seals combinations, which meant that he was actually molding the chakra himself and Naruto only needed a single hand seal to help him focus. Naruto favored the ram seal for this purpose, which was odd considering the hand seal sequence for the henge was dog – boar – tiger and didn't include the ram seal. Thus, for some reason, Naruto was able to instinctively form the henge jutsu. Of course he still needed practice to fix his problems with forming faces.

They also found that Naruto's henge could break several preconceived notions concerning the jutsu. It was originally thought that only summons were able to use the henge to its fullest potential as humans were not able to replicate what summons could do with the jutsu.

For example, The Monkey King Enma was able to transform into an object (an adamantine staff) that was smaller than himself, weighed less, and could change its shape and properties (to something as hard as diamond). It was a known fact that humans were not able to reproduce that ability. Many had tried and failed. They found it impossible to henge into something smaller than themselves, to change their weight to match that of what they were transforming into, to change the shape of their henge without dispelling the technique, or to change the properties of the object they wanted to turn into.

The best that humans could to was to transform into another person or a closed object of similar size and humans were not able to ever change their weight or be handled while in a henge. Tsunade had taken it a step further and made her own version of the henge to hide her age and physically be a woman in her twenties.

Normally, if a person changed into a crate then they wouldn't actually be a crate. They had to crouch down and sit on a solid surface and they couldn't mimic the material of the object they wanted to change into. If they were touched or lifted by a person, they would weigh the same as they had before the henge and the henge would also disperse from the user either losing focus or the layer of chakra being disturbed. The layer was rather flimsy and could be disrupted with a single touch by someone else.

A summon on the other hand could literally change into an object and even harden that object like Enma could do. They could even partially emerge from the object or change the dimensions of the object. Enma was able to reach out with his arm from the staff he transformed into and even move to some degree. He could also change his diameter and length in tandem with Hiruzen's attacks.

From what they discovered, Naruto was able to perform these abilities, at least some of them. Naruto was able to change into a variety of smaller weapons that weighed exactly the same what the real weapons would. He couldn't change into something any larger than a than a tall person or any smaller than a pebble. This however was astounding as no one had ever been able to accomplish something like that before. Naruto was succeeding without really trying whereas others had failed after putting a good amount of time and effort. The only way to know that Naruto was transformed into a seemingly random object was to physically touch that object. It was also possible that an accomplished sensor could find him but none of the veteran shinobi present in the yard could detect him while transformed into an object. Naruto didn't know how to increase his hardness to that of a diamond but the weapons that he transformed into appeared to be made of metal and could actually be used as weapons.

There were drawbacks to his object transformation however, as Naruto wasn't able to change his shape while transformed and he couldn't sprout an appendage from his transformed state. He was confined to the shape he transformed into and there was also a limit to the dimensions he could take on. Naruto couldn't transform into something very narrow or very long as well as a limit to the size and weight of whatever he would transform into.

With more experimentation, they found that the clothes that Naruto created felt and behaved like actual clothes. The robe he made when he transformed into the Hokage, felt and behaved like a real robe. To the watching grown-ups amazement, Naruto could actually take off the hat and robes but if they left his person, they would dispel in a poof of smoke.

Probably the most interesting discovery was when Naruto attempted to transform into an animal and succeeded. Before that point, no one had ever been able to transform into a moving animal. They could mimic the shape of an animal similar in size to a human over their body but never physically transform into an animal of their choosing as Naruto could. If he wanted to become a bird, Naruto could physically become a bird and even take flight after several tries. This astounded everyone else present. Naruto greatly enjoyed his new found flight abilities as a henged bird and it took a great deal of coaxing from everyone present to get him back down to the ground.

Needless to say, everyone was still rather amazed and confounded as to what Naruto had managed to accomplish. Unlike Naruto, they realized the significance and possible uses of such a technique. With training and practice, Naruto could potentially become one of the best infiltrators that the village had ever known. His usage of the academy jutsu, in some ways, surpassed that of summoning animals. Simply by accident, Naruto had surpassed any ninja who had ever use the jutsu before him. Shakky decided at that point to start Naruto's stealth and infiltration training a little earlier than she had planned.

"Have you ever seen anything like that?" spoke Rayleigh to the Sandaime. Rayleigh may have been older but the Sandaime was noted for his knowledge in the ninja world and had a great store of knowledge at his disposal. As such, he wanted the Sandaime's opinion before he started suggesting any theories of his own. As the Sandaime gave this question the proper thought, he did come across several similarities to people that he had or still did know in his life as a shinobi.

"Well, I have seen some instances where something similar has happened before." stated the Sandaime and he had the full, undivided, attention of both Uzumaki. "I have seen instances where a ninja has shown great affinity for certain types of jutsu. For example, the ninja clans of this village have each have techniques or affinities that they are predisposed to use better than another clan. The Uchiha have their affinity to fire, which is shared by nearly every member of the clan, past and present. Also the trio of Akamichi, Yamanaka, and Nara all have a specific affinity for a particular aspect of yin and yang manipulation jutsu."

Both Uzumaki nodded at this and the Sandaime continued, "I have also witnessed instances of a particular person having a special predisposition for particular jutsu that was not part of what the rest of the clan practiced. This was particularly evident in the Senju clan who had great prowess not due to a bloodline or an affinity to a specific type of jutsu. Both Hashirama sensei and Tobirama sensei each had a particular affinity for certain jutsu. In the Shodai's case it was wood jutsu, which no one else had been able to use or replicate. The Nidaime possessed an incredibly powerful affinity for water jutsu, enough that he was able to pull moisture from the surrounding atmosphere. The only person who could every come close to that affinity was Salamander Hanzo. Senju Toka was also someone who possessed a strong affinity for genjutsu which was said to be even greater than many of the Uchiha clan or the Kurama clan, both of which are known for their genjutsu. One of my own students, Tsunade, also possessed an affinity for healing jutsu that has not been seen since. Of course there are other examples outside of the village such as the Sandaime Kazekage who was known for his iron sand."

The two people present absorbed this information as the Sandaime took a little break. They had also known most of this information but it was good to refresh themselves. "As to having an affinity for a single technique, there are many examples. Everyone has heard of ninja having great skill with a specific technique, such as silent killing, or a specific jutsu, but those are instances where that person has trained themselves until they were unrivaled in the skill.

What Naruto has shown is an innate ability to use a specific jutsu with no prior knowledge or training. His henge is far more advanced than anyone I have ever heard of before and I cannot believe how versatile his jutsu is. I would go as far as saying that the technique he is using is no longer the henge no jutsu. He is still having some trouble mastering the jutsu but with the progress I saw today, he should master the jutsu by the end of the week." stated the Sandaime with a little awe in his voice over what Naruto had unknowingly done.

"What rank would you give the jutsu? I would suppose, that with the complexity of the jutsu and the fact that none of us were able to duplicate what Naruto-chan accomplished, that the jutsu should be labeled as a A-rank. I could definitely feel Naruto-chan using far more chakra than the original technique requires, probably three or four times as much. However, that would be on the level of a C-rank at best." Shakky asked the two men present.

Of course, both men had very different thoughts on the subject. Rayleigh thought the jutsu should be labeled at least at A-rank because if the jutsu was used to its fullest, it could be one of the most powerful and cunning infiltration jutsu's known. Sarutobi on the other hand was a bit more conservative with the his thoughts. He believed that the jutsu should be a C-rank because, although Naruto was the only person capable of using it, an A-rank was labeled on difficulty and chakra usage. The jutsu that Naruto had, was only able to be used by him and could only be used effectively by a person of experience and who had been properly trained. At this point in time, the jutsu had great potential and was incredible but it was a little much to think that it should be labeled at a higher rank.

Both men voiced their opinions on the subject and after much debate back and forth Shakky decided that it was time to stop the discussion and stated, "Just label it a B-rank and be done with it."

Both men, not wanting to incur her wrath, agreed.

Please Review


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

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Chapter VI: Memoirs

AN: **Naruto is now four years old**

AN: In response to some reviews, I was thinking that Naruto might learn some elemental ninjutsu but only about twelve ninjutsu (in wind and earth) and most of them he actually invents himself as part of a competition with someone else. Naruto won't be using his swords for a while or even learning how to use Santoryu for many chapters (until he is around seven years old) so I wanted him to have at least some ninjutsu and maybe one genjutsu to use until he is more proficient with swordsmanship. Later on in my story is when he will use his swords more and ninjutsu less but not until he graduates the academy. This comes from the fact that canon Naruto is never taught how to use ninjutsu at all, no one really even tries to teach him. The most that he got was half-assed wind training from multiple people. I also wanted Naruto to graduate at the regular time that the other Konoha eleven graduate but other things will happen up until that point and he won't be stuck at the academy for six straight years. The story will have a slow start because I wanted to go more in depth about how Naruto grew up and what he learned during that time. Several people will show up earlier on before he graduates from the academy such as Sora from the fire temple and Zabuza/Haku. Thank you for your reviews and interest in my story.

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Two people were walking down the crowded main street of Konoha towards the Hokage tower. The taller man on the right was Rayleigh and he was dressed how he usually dresses, though he decided to forgo the usual cloak that he wears as it was the hotter months of the year. The shorter child on the left was wearing normal sandals, blue shorts, and a button-up orange vest. His hair was jet black and his face was partially covered by the shadow produced by the straw hat that he was wearing. He was also smiling and he was also Uzumaki Naruto under a henge. This week he was disguised as Luffy, or what he envisioned as Luffy. The books don't have illustrations, only descriptions.

When Naruto walked through the village while disguised, he always thought that is it was very odd place. Everyone was completely different when he went around the village while disguised, compared with if he walked around without a henge. If he didn't have the henge, people would notice him and then the usual things would happen. 'I don't understand them.' thought Naruto.

They would always start glaring at him. 'I really hate the way they look at me.' he continued in his thoughts.

Most would avoid him entirely like he was the plague. Then the whispering would start. 'Don't they know that I can hear them.' he wondered.

They called him a 'monster' and 'demon' or 'fox'. Only five people in the village actually called him Naruto. He was never let into any of the stores or restaurants and they kicked him out if he tried. There were also several incidents when someone would take things farther and shout things, throw things, or actually physically assault him. The assaulting was mostly used to threaten him. The would push him down or purposefully run into him and then blame him for it. 'I didn't do anything to them. It won't be long before I can fight back and defend myself.' he imagined.

Only when drunk, would the villagers actually try and attack him. 'Ray-sensei said this happens the worst near my birthday.'

Rayleigh and occasionally Shakky made sure Naruto never left his house during the time around his birthday. Every year people would drink heavily around that time and a mob would form that would go off looking for the boy, though they never found him. Ninja and civilian alike would occasionally try and follow Naruto back to where he was hiding but they would always black out and wake up in a dumpster, courtesy of Rayleigh. It was very different on the days when Shakky went with or followed Naruto. Those individuals would end up in the hospital for an extended period of time. So far the Uchiha Military Police had no leads on the unknown assailant and weren't close to finding or catching the person. Shakky had perfected her beating technique to such levels that she could cause short-term memory loss on her 'victims' and they would forget that they ever encountered her.

Of course, Naruto knew exactly why they did this as both guardians had informed him. He just couldn't understand how people that were so nice and peaceful when he was disguised, could turn into such mean and terrible people when he walked around without a disguise. It didn't make sense. He had been observing the people in the village for months and he was no closer to finding out why they acted like they did. While Rayleigh did allow Naruto to go out alone, he would always follow the boy and made sure that nothing happened. Living your life while always underneath a disguise was no way to live. There had been a few instances where someone had tried to attack Naruto but the blonde was very resourceful and fast. He always managed to get away from any pursuers.

The silence was broken between the two as they they lazily made their way to the red tower ahead of them. "So, how many people have you seen wearing standard ninja sandals?" asked Rayleigh to the shorter figure.

The shorter figure glanced up and took a look around at their current area. After some thought, he said, "Forty-two people, Ray-sensei."

Rayleigh nodded at the correct answer and asked another question. In the past few months, this had become a standard part of what they did in the early afternoon, three times a week. Rayleigh and an advanced henged Naruto would walk through the village and Naruto would be asked questions about different things around them. Naruto would have to observe and memorize what he saw during this excursions and provide answers to the questions that Rayleigh asked. These questions were geared towards helping Naruto with his observation and memory skills and Naruto found the activity rather difficult at first but was progressing.

This exercise had started the previous year with memorizing items in the pantry and house but had now evolved into a much larger area. After months of training, Naruto was finally able to memorize every item in their pantry and figure out what items in the house had been moved from the previous day. After accomplishing these tasks to a degree that Rayleigh found acceptable, the difficulty was increased.

Sometimes they would go into stores or restaurants and Rayleigh would question Naruto about the people sitting or standing around them, and he wouldn't let Naruto turn around or look around himself. This was to build situational awareness of the people around Naruto. Rayleigh would even ask how many ninja were around them, both on and off-duty. Naruto found this particularly difficult, especially since he couldn't sense chakra. This meant that he would have to identify off-duty ninja based on how they moved or acted, or perhaps features. It was rather easy to spot individuals from certain clans as they all looked alike or were easily identifiable. It was much more difficult to spot a ninja in civilian clothing, that didn't belong to a clan or wasn't readily identifiable. Naruto often couldn't spot these individuals. After getting back home, Rayleigh would lecture and explain the best ways to spot them on the next trip they took into the village.

On one of these excursions, they had discovered Ichiraku Ramen. Well, Naruto had discovered the small ramen shop and Rayleigh just ate their again. Of course once Naruto had discovered ramen, he wanted to eat ramen everyday. The owner, Teuchi, was overjoyed considering the amount of ramen that Naruto could eat in one sitting. Naruto also didn't have to use his henge while sitting inside the small ramen stand as neither Teuchi or his daughter Ayame cared who Naruto was. He also took off his mask when he entered the stand.

Since Naruto had made friends, Rayleigh had agree that they could come back once a week. However, this eventually turned into four times a week but Naruto still ate more nutritional meals, they just made room for ramen. Rayleigh wanted Naruto to eat healthy but the blonde had found people that didn't think badly of him for the burden that he carried and Rayleigh wanted Naruto to have some people to talk with besides Shakky, the Sandaime, and himself. Especially since Naruto still wasn't able to make any friends in the village.

All of Naruto's training had advanced in the year since he started learning his first academy jutsu. He had already learned how to tree walk and Rayleigh had found ways to make the jutsu more difficult by having Naruto perform tasks while tree walking or perform the leaf concentration/spinning exercise while tree walking. Rayleigh wasn't happy until tree walking was second nature to Naruto.

Naruto's physical training had progressed as well. Rayleigh had Naruto training with his swords and using the Uzumaki style of Taijutsu. Rayleigh had the blonde go through grueling workouts that, more often than not, left Naruto a panting, sweaty mess on the ground after he was finished. For his part, Naruto didn't complain or ask Rayleigh to go easier on him. From reading those books for so long, all that Naruto wanted to do was get stronger and find nakama. Unfortunately, while he was slowly getting stronger, he had yet to find any friends.

Both men were brought out of their musings when they reached the open area with the Hokage Tower just ahead of them. "How many ninja are guarding the area within one hundred meters around us?" Rayleigh asked to break the silence and continue the training exercise.

The disguised Naruto looked around the open area. He easily spotted the guards that were on duty in the area. They were placed by the doors to the tower and their were several patrolling the area. Naruto quickly gave an answer of, "Twelve, Ray-sensei."

Rayleigh smiled but responded with, "Nope. There are sixteen ninja around us."

Naruto surveyed the scene again. 'I only see twelve. Where are the other...four...yeah four?' thought Naruto.

"So were are the other ones?" Naruto asked Rayleigh while looking around the clearing in front of the Hokage Tower.

Rayleigh smiled and answered, "An ANBU squad hidden in the trees."

Naruto pouted. It wasn't his fault he couldn't see them then. "That's not fair!" he voiced his objection.

Rayleigh merely laughed at the disguised child walking next to him. "That's tough, you lost. Life isn't fair, and you shouldn't think that it should be. Since you lost, you have to wash the dishes after dinner." Rayleigh said while still smiling and he could hear Naruto mumble something about always having to do the dishes.

They began making wagers on exercises like this. If Naruto wasn't successful then he would have to do extra chores. Of course Rayleigh didn't miss a chance to do less work and he made sure to win the wager. He then passed it off to Naruto as a challenge to get better and work harder. Rayleigh told himself that he was trying to teach Naruto a lesson but he also didn't want to do any of those chores.

"Now, while I'm talking with Sarutobi-san you can sit in the waiting room or something. Just don't get lost." said Rayleigh to the person next to him.

"Why couldn't I have just stayed at home? I have books their I could be reading." replied the disguised Naruto.

"Do you remember the last time I left you alone in the apartment?" intoned Rayleigh with a frown.

The sheepish look on the man next to him told Rayleigh everything he needed to know. The last time he had left Naruto at home, while he went out to the store, he arrived home to the smoke alarms going off and to find that the drapes in the kitchen along with a pot on the stove were ablaze. Apparently Naruto was hungry and wanted to make himself something to eat. The blonde had watched Rayleigh cook many times but was unprepared for actually doing it himself. After that, Naruto was not allowed near the stove or in the house alone.

The pair entered the Hokage building and proceeded to the office of the Hokage. Naruto had to wait outside on one of the benches while Rayleigh went inside. Naruto had made sure to stay away from the secretary that was on the same floor. 'I really should have brought something to read with me.' thought Naruto disdainfully as he proceeded to count the ceiling tiles.

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Hokage's Office

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Rayleigh eased himself into one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk while the Sandaime finished filling out the paperwork that he was currently working on. While he still had disagreements with the Sandaime, Rayleigh was focused on raising and training Naruto. He didn't have time to hold a grudge against the Hokage for what had happened after Naruto was born. Rayleigh also didn't like having to tell the Hokage about Naruto's training and progress every week.

Once finished, the Hokage began the meeting, "Sorry about this, but I just haven't been able to leave the office at all since the Hyuuga Affair (Hinata's kidnapping attempt) and that was nearly six months ago." said the weary Hokage while rubbing his eyes. Rayleigh nodded in understanding. The backlash from that event had escalated tensions between the Leaf and Cloud and there was seemingly no end to the paperwork and problems. Village security was again investigated, the Sandaime had been in numerous meeting with the council and the Hyuuga clan, and the not to mention the negotiations and politics of the whole matter.

The Sandaime hadn't been able to visit Naruto, but he was also busy with the birth of his grandson Konohamaru and hadn't been able to hear any updated on Naruto's progress in his training. Because of the situation with Naruto, the Sandaime didn't want any reports or paperwork of any kind concerning the boys training as the blonde was supposed to be in the care of the orphanage. With the current problems in the village, Naruto had been all but forgotten about by the shinobi council.

The only news about Naruto's progress that the Sandaime received was when he went to visit and conversed with Rayleigh. This usually took quite some time as the Sandaime was very interested in the boys progress, especially after the discovery of his unique henge. Unfortunately, with the Sandaime's busy schedule as it was, he wasn't able to visit Naruto long enough to speak with Rayleigh in several months. That was the main reason he had set aside this time for a meeting.

"Well, so far I have been increasing Naruto-kun's physical exercises like we talked about." the Sandaime nodded at this and Rayleigh inwardly smirked as he had been increasing Naruto's physical training regime faster than they had agreed upon and proceeded, "and he is progressing well with the basic academy taijutsu style and very well with the Uzumaki taijutsu style." the Sandaime smiled at this. The Uzumaki style, known as the Whirlpool Fist was a hard style similar to the Strong Fist style used by Might Gai. "I've also been working on his dexterity, agility, and how to recover from throws and falls."

"We've been practicing with the basic ninja tools and he is showing steady improvement. I haven't taught him anymore jutsu at this point seeing as he is still working on using and mastering the jutsu that I have given him so far which include: the clone technique, the body replacement technique, his advanced henge, the shadow shuriken technique, basic wire and shuriken manipulation, the rope escape technique, and the cloak of invisibility technique." said Rayleigh as he finished listing off the techniques that Naruto could perform. The Sandaime nodded at the list seeing as Naruto's training was advancing quite nicely.

"Since Naruto-kun has already completed the tree walking exercise, I plan to teach him water walking in the near future." continued Rayleigh.

The Sandaime was rather shocked at this since the water walking exercise was really for genin or chunin but before he could object Rayleigh said, "Naruto-kun already has high genin chakra reserves, Sarutobi-san. It would be a waste to not train him when he is already ready." After giving it some thought, the Sandaime agreed with this.

"He's also progressed very well in his kenjutsu and I am teaching him a style that was used in Uzushio. I want to start him working on basic shape manipulation and chakra flow exercises a little later in the year. I learned many different techniques from my time in Iron Country with the samurai there and I bet they could be very useful to Naruto."

The Sandaime was again shocked by this. The samurai of Iron Country were nothing to joke about and it was unheard of for a ninja to be able to learn anything from them. They kept their techniques and training secret from everyone. It was quite surprising that Rayleigh knew any of those techniques. Of course the Sandaime wasn't about to deny Naruto the chance to learn something like what Rayleigh was proposing and nodded in agreement, though he did think they would be too advanced for Naruto.

"Next week I will to start teaching Naruto-kun the basics of fuinjutsu and the Uzumaki fuinjutsu. If he is anything like his mother, and so far he definitely is, then he will be quite skilled in our clan's fuinjutsu and I should start training him as soon as possible." concluded Rayleigh.

"I also wanted to know where would be the best place to start working on survival, tracking, and basic trap training with Naruto?" inquired Rayleigh.

The Sandaime thought about this. Rayleigh had asked to use training ground forty-three several years prior but the Sandaime didn't want Naruto anywhere near training ground forty-four which had been dubbed the 'Forest of Death'. Technically, only Konoha ninja were allowed to use any of the training grounds within or outside of the leaf village. Some of the ninja clans had their own private training grounds and in the Nara clan's case, an area for their deer to graze outside of the village. The problem was finding a training ground that no really went to and where there was little chance of someone observing Rayleigh training Naruto.

"I suppose you can use any training ground that is open but you'll have to make sure that no one sees either of you training there." said the Hokage and he asked a question of his own, "How is Naruto-kun's training with Shakky-san going?" asked the Hokage. The Sandaime had hardly seen the woman in months and he was curious what she was teaching Naruto or planned on teaching him in the near future.

Although Rayleigh kept a straight face on the outside, on the inside it was a different story. He really wasn't sure what exactly to tell the Hokage. There were obvious things that he would tell the Hokage but there were others that he did not want to inform the Hokage about. "Lets see..." he stalled for time while thinking.

'I shouldn't tell Sarutobi-san about Shakky teaching Naruto-kun about the different pressure points or about the different methods to break and dislocate someones arms, legs, and hands. I also definitely can't tell him about Shakky using low doses of poisons on the boy to develop his immunity to the most common types.' Were the thoughts racing through Rayleigh's mind.

"..we already have his reading and writing down to a good level so she started focusing on other things. After the discovery of his unique henge, she started working on basic stealth, espionage, and infiltration...she's also teaching him basics on anatomy." Added Rayleigh after a little break.

"Oh...any particular subject of anatomy?" inquired the Hokage as he was curious and a little hesitant to know the answer. Shakky definitely knew her way around injuring the human body.

"Ah...lots of things, I guess. I don't really sit in on their lessons, so it could be lots of different things." answered Rayleigh a little hesitantly and with a half-truth.

'Do I even want to know what she's teaching Naruto-kun.' thought the Sandaime and a long silence settled between them.

Both men decided it was better to change the subject than continue where the had stopped and the conversation switched to casual talk about other things. Of course Rayleigh had forgotten that Naruto was still waiting outside of the office in the hallway. He also forgot that Naruto gets bored very easily.

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Outside the Office

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"Ohhhhhh, I'm bored." Naruto groaned out while rubbing his eyes. He had been siting on the bench that Rayleigh had left him on for hours. At least that is what he assumed as he couldn't see a clock and didn't have a watch. In actuality, it had been less than fifteen minutes.

Naruto had dispelled his henge and was laying down on the bench. Originally he had been sitting, but the bench wasn't very comfortable and he had been changing positions every few minutes.

It was in this position that he noticed something on the ceiling that he had overlooked when he was counting the ceiling tiles. It was an ordinary vent for the air ducts that ran throughout the building.

He was bored and this new discovery had caught his attention. From first glance, he could tell that the vent was too small to properly fit him inside. It was a ninja building after all and it would be stupid to have air ducts that a person could fit inside and travel in. However, this did not impeded Naruto in the slightest because he had a henge that was superior to all others. 'This looks promising.' the young Uzumaki thought.

Smiling, Naruto got up from the bench and inspected the vent on the ceiling. Nodding to himself, he walked up the wall, onto the ceiling, and started removing the metal plate covering the air duct. Once the cover was open he made the ram sign for his henge.

When the smoke had cleared, a small monkey had taken Naruto's place. It was normal looking if not overly cute. The reason Naruto had chosen a monkey was mostly for its human-like hands and specifically for the opposable thumbs the creature possessed.

Climbing into the vent, the monkey turned around and put the vent back into place as best as it could. Looking around the new area, Naruto chose a direction and scampered along the metal of the duct to an unknown destination. The darkness wasn't an issue for Naruto because he had excellent night-vision. To him, the vent didn't seem very dark at all.

Trying his best, Naruto stayed away from the Sandaime's office. There was no point in being discovered this early in his big adventure. On his unknown path, Naruto passed many other vents and observed many people doing various things. He passed by one room with several ninja behind tables handing out scrolls. He almost stopped in to try and get one but didn't want to get caught. He did wonder exactly what were on the scrolls though. He also passed by a bathroom, several dark rooms with file cabinets, and a janitors closet.

Right when he had decided to turn around the head back, he came upon another room. This one was full of books and seeing as Naruto loved stories he decided to have a look. Examining the room as best as he could from the vent, he decided that no one was around. Putting chakra to his hands, Naruto stuck his palm to the vent and pushed it open. Walking out of the vent, the monkey replaced the vent cover and examined the room.

(AN: This is the same room that Konohamaru barracaded himself into in the Anime)

It was smaller than the Sandaime's office and also featured desk in the middle of the room. This desk was not covered with papers like the Sandaime's. It was completely clean with only a single lamp siting on it. Surrounding the desk, were numerous filled bookshelves on each wall. The room had no windows.

Changing back into himself, Naruto went over to the light switch and turned on the lights in the room. He could see in the dark but would have had difficulty reading the titles of the books. He proceeded to the closest shelf and started examining the titles.

After browsing several bookshelves and enumerable books, he decided that this collection was very boring. 'Mostly old medical, history, geography, and jutsu books.' he thought and frowned. He thought maybe the jutsu books were interesting but they all had some crazy stuff inside about Kinjutsu and death. They just weren't what he was looking for. He wanted a story, or at least something that wasn't so out of his reading ability and utterly boring. 'Ray-sensei probably hasn't stopped talking to Hokage-jiji yet. Once those old guys get going its hard to get them to stop.' thought the bored boy.

Naruto wasn't one to give up though and he was determined to find something that he could read. As he made his was to the M's section he passed over the last of the medical texts that he stopped as his mind caught up with his browsing. He moved back two titles and stared at what he saw. It was an old book, very old indeed. Thick and leather-bound. Rather worn too. The title on the spine could still be read and that was what Naruto was trying to comprehend.

"The Memoirs of Roronoa Zoro." was what the book said for the title. 'That can't be. Shakky-bachan and Ray-sensei both said that those books were just stories and not real.' thought Naruto disbelievingly.

Naruto continued to stare at the anomalous book in front of him and right at his finger tips. Based on what his 'Grandparents' had told him, Naruto's mind started making up an explanation for the title, 'Maybe someone was named Roronoa Zoro in the elemental countries? They could have been named after the character in the book. I'm named after a character in the "Tales of the Gutsy Ninja", maybe they are named after the Zoro from my books'.

Of course thoughts like that only made him want to examine the book more closely. His heart was beating rather fast from excitement. 'This could be something amazing or it could be nothing at all.' Placing both hands on the spine of the book, he gently tugged it free from its resting place and hauled it back to the desk in the room. He lifted the thick book over his head. Despite nearly falling over backwards, he still managed to push the book onto the desk. Climbing into the chair he faced the desk and was about to begin his thorough inspection of this artifact when he realized something and scowled, he was too short to properly see over the desk while sitting in the chair.

Jumping out of the chair, Naruto went to the thickest of the medical texts and dragged two over to the chair. With some heavy lifting, he managed to get both into the chair to sit on. Climbing back into the chair he scowled again as he faced the desk. The chair was too far away from the desk for his short arms to even reach the book.

Jumping out of the chair, he went to the back and started pushing it closer to the desk. 'I really shouldn't have picked the thickest and heaviest books I could find. This chair weighs a ton and is even harder to push. I hate being small. Maybe I should have just examined it on the floor and not the desk?' thought the frustrated and annoyed boy.

After finally getting everything ready for his big inspection, Naruto climbed up the armrest and into his new high-chair. Looking forward, he looked to the cover of the book. The cover was well worn but blank. It contained no title or author. The book did not smell like mold or mildew like several of the other texts in the room. Gently flipping over the cover, Naruto examined the first page. The page was frayed at the edges as all of the proceeding pages seemed to be. It only bore the same title on the spine and nothing more.

Naruto flipped the page and examined the second page, this page had a dedication:

To Kuina,

I kept our promise and completed our dream.

The journey lies in these pages.

~ R.Z.

Naruto stared for some time at these words. His mouth was open and his eyes were wide. He read the dedication several times. Each time he came to the same conclusion. 'He was real. She was real. This is real.' he realized and still couldn't believe what he was holding. His breathing was heavy and labored.

What was sitting in front of him shouldn't be real. It shouldn't exist. Both his guardians told him that it was just a story. The crew of that sailing ship didn't exist. He wanted it to be real. He wanted those pirates to exist.

Naruto would often imagine himself as part of the crew or from Zoro's perspective on board the ship. In his imagination, he had a group of great friends who cared for each other and had great adventures. This of course was the opposite of the real world, in which he had no friends and was too young for great adventures.

Not even bothering to flip the page and continue reading, Naruto closed the book. What he needed right now was affirmation. He needed to find Rayleigh and get him to see what he had found. Naruto was very confused and needed to know what was going on. Getting down from the chair, Naruto took the book and went to the door of the study. He needed to get to the Sandaime's office. He needed to know if this book was real. Naruto didn't bother to put the medical texts that he had been sitting on back onto the shelves. He was on a mission now and nothing was going to stop him.

Bursting through the doors of the study, Naruto came face to face with two patrolling guards. 'Oh crap' he thought and started running toward the Sandaime's office right as both guards noticed him. They also noticed where he was coming from and that he had stolen something.

"Stop right there!" yelled one of the guards but Naruto just ran as fast as he could. Having some idea where he was, Naruto remembered that he had gone down a floor when he was in the vents and therefore the Sandaime's office had to be on the floor above him. He needed to get to the stair case. Thinking fast, Naruto gathered chakra into his feet and started running along the wall and then the ceiling.

The chunin guards weren't perturbed by this at all and were nearly upon him despite the maneuver. While still holding the book tightly in his arms, Naruto jumped off the ceiling towards the ground and made a single hand seal and created as many clones of himself as he could in the hallway. Since the clones had no substance to them, they dispelled as soon as they came in contact with the guards. However, the dispelling created a useful smoke screen.

"Gottcha!" said one of the chunins as he reached forward through the smoke and grabbed what he thought was the boy.

When the smoke dispelled enough for guard to see, he was holding a three foot tall potted plant. A potted plant that, just a moment before, had been siting near the door to the staircase.

"Hehehehehehe," Naruto laughed to himself as he ascended the stairs towards his destination on the next floor. His laughter stopped however as the door to the stairwell opened and the guards began ascending the stairs as well. Apparently they had heard the door to the stairwell shut and instantly knew where he had gone.

Naruto's headstart was shortened drastically by the faster pursuers as he exited the stairwell door and ran along the hallway to the Sandaime's office. Not a second later the door to the stairwell was opened again by the pursuing chunin.

Naruto created several more clones and ran past the desk of the secretary as she yelled at him and the chunin guards continue to catch up. With his pursuers slightly deterred again, Naruto was nearly at the door to the Sandaime's office when a hand stopped him.

Naruto turned and came face to face with a ninja bearing a white mask in the visage of a hawk and another with the mask of a snake. He recognized these ninja as ANBU from the descriptions that Rayleigh had given him and thought disparagingly, 'I guess the ANBU hide on the inside of the building as well as the outside. I should have used the vents.'

"What's going on here." the ANBU with his hand on Naruto's shoulder inquired to the two chunin.

"We saw him leaving the Hokage's Study with a book. He ran as soon as he saw us. So we followed him here." answered one of the chunin.

The ANBU decided not to ask how a young boy managed to eluded them for so long but were confused as to how the boy was able to get into the Hokage's Study. The room was sealed with fuinjutsu that had to be removed by the Hokage himself to gain access. The senior ANBU was about to knock on the Sandaime's door when said man opened it to see what was going on.

Taking one look at Naruto, the old Hokage fought back a sigh and asked the ANBU what was going on. After he was informed he said, "Alright, I take it from here Hawk-san. Step into my office Naruto-kun."

Naruto was instantly aware that the mere mention of his name had a profound impact on the people around him. The demeanor of both chunin, the secretary, and one of the ANBU changed immediately. They couldn't really tell that the boy was Uzumaki Naruto because he was wearing a mask and the color of his hair had been changed. During one of his lessons with Shakky, she had placed a seal on his neck that allowed him to change the color of his hair by manipulating the seal with his chakra. After several tries, Naruto had managed to proficiently change his hair color. He thought it was the coolest thing ever and was amazed that the fuinjutsu even disappeared after he was done using the seal and would reappear when he added chakra to the seal to change his hair color. Since then he had taken to changing his hair color quite often. Today and probably for the rest of this week, it was orange.

Despite the disguise though, the mention of his name had changed the atmosphere around him. He could feel the glares coming from several people around him, the same glares that the villagers gave him. He didn't look at them or even acknowledge the glares and proceeded to enter the Sandaime's office. Naruto had been training with Shakky and Rayleigh to resist the ire of the villagers to some degree. Both guardians did not want the villagers glares and hatred to upset Naruto as much as it used to and had given him advice and training to ignore them and not let it get to him. Naruto wasn't going to let them see him look sad or intimidated by their glares and hatred. However, it still upset him on some level and he tried to bury the feelings as best as he could while putting on a mask of indifference or uncaring at the attitudes of villagers and shinobi of Konoha.

The Sandaime fought back a frown at the actions of his secretary and ninja but their was really nothing he could do about it. The Hokage had instantly regretted stating the boy's name. Unfortunately, he knew that rumors would probably start spreading about the boy stealing from the Hokage tower or something along those lines. It would no doubt get blown out of proportion and end up with a lot more work and meetings for him. 'Why can't anything concerning Naruto be easy for once.' thought Sarutobi sadly as said boy entered his office.

x-x

Sandaime's Office

x-x

Naruto was sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. Rayleigh was in the other chair. Both elderly gentlemen were looking curiously at the boy holding the worn book tightly in his arms and wondering what significance it had. Naruto had stole it from the Hokage's study after all.

The Sandaime was perhaps a little more curious than Rayleigh as he knew exactly what sort of books were in his study. Most of them were acquired before the founding of the village and were from more than one clan. These books were deemed for the Hokage or someone that the current Hokage allowed access. The subjects varied from history to medical texts and poisons, but a good portion of the books held various collections of knowledge that were deemed as forbidden. At one point, his former student Orochimaru had stolen texts from the study in order to further his research and knowledge to acquire an unholy jutsu that would extend his life.

After that incident, those particular books had been sealed away in an undisclosed location. But the remaining books were still dangerous. Only the Scroll of Seals, which contained the majority of the villages kinjutsu, was more dangerous than those books and the scroll was safely stored in another location. What both men wanted to know right now was what book could have possibly peaked the boys interest. The Sandaime also wanted to know how Naruto had broken into the study but the identification of the book came first.

"So Naruto-kun, exactly what did you find so interesting in my study that you decided to take it with you." asked the Sandaime in a calm and kind voice.

Naruto didn't answer at first. He was still a mix of emotions and adrenalin from the chase to the office. He was also a little out of breath. However, he did noticeably relax after a brief period and released his death-grip on the book.

After regaining his breath from the chase, Naruto looked to Rayleigh and spoke, "I found proof." Those words were all that he said. Rayleigh for his part was rather confused as to what Naruto could mean. The boy had an expectant expression on his face and Rayleigh had the feeling that he just wasn't thinking along the same lines as Naruto and wouldn't understand until he had looked at the book.

Taking the book from Naruto, Rayleigh set it on the desk so that both he and the Sandaime could look at it. While the Sandaime has complete access to the books in his study, he hadn't looked at nearly half of all of them and this one was new to him. 'No title on the front, but the side says the "Memoir's of Roronoa Zoro," I wonder who that is? It sounds familiar.' thought the Sandaime.

Rayleigh's thoughts, however, were a little bit different. 'So this is what got him all worked up. Naruto-kun really wants those stories to be real. He saw the name and came rushing to me, all exited. Unfortunately it is most likely a coincidence. Someone with the same name but completely different life.' thought Rayleigh as he opened the cover and tried to ignore the expectant look on Naruto's face. He really didn't want to crush the boy's enthusiasm and excitement but he has sure that one look inside the book would verify that it wasn't what Naruto hoped it was.

The first thing that Rayleigh's eyes came across in the book was the dedication which gave the man much pause and caused his eyes to widen. His visage became rigid from shock as he read the dedication for the second time. 'Alright, this is turning out to be a larger coincidence than I had originally thought.' Rayleigh thought and turned to see that Naruto was now more exited that he had been and was standing in the chair, leaning over the desk, and bracing himself while looking over Rayleigh's shoulder at the book. Rayleigh also noticed that the Sandaime was equally interested though more from interest in the reactions from the people in front of him then from recognizing the significance of what was written.

Putting his attention back on the book, Rayleigh again turned the page and started skimming the 'memoirs'. After nearly five minutes of skimming, Rayleigh shut the book, pushed it several inches forward on the desk and sat back in his chair. He had his arms crossed over his chest and had sort of a dazed contemplative look on his face. The Hokage was also sitting back in his chair, having decided to let Rayleigh examine the book and was smoking his pipe. Naruto had also sat back in his chair and was looking at Rayleigh expectantly.

Rayleigh was still trying to sort out his thoughts when he was brought back to reality by the sound of Naruto's stomach making itself known to everyone in the room. Both older men laughed while Naruto looked rather sheepish. Making a decision, the Sandaime used the intercom to ask his secretary to order some food for the three of them. It was well past lunch time and he hadn't gotten most of his paperwork done for the day, but he wasn't complaining any. Whatever this book was, it was far more interesting than his paperwork.

The Hokage looked to Rayleigh and was expecting an explanation. He had waited patiently for several minutes while Rayleigh had perused the book and now he wanted to know what had so interested both Rayleigh and Naruto. Rayleigh caught the look and said, "Naruto-kun, why don't you go over to the couch and read." and with that he handed the boy the book on the desk. Naruto accepted the book and went over to the couch in the Hokage's office to read.

Placing a small seal tag on the desk, which the Hokage recognized as a privacy tag (which stops sound from escaping a given distance and prevents others from overhearing a conversation within the tag's range). Both elder men looked at each other and Rayleigh started, "I suppose you want to know what is going on that book Sarutobi-san and why Naruto was so excited about it?" The Sandaime nodded as he was very curious about what had transpired between the book, Naruto, and Rayleigh.

Rayleigh continued, "You know how Naruto always wants to read those books over and over again. The ones about the pirates, the one called "The Legend of One Piece"..." the Sandaime nodded and allowed Rayleigh to continue, "...well he has a good imagination and was so immersed in the story that he believed that the books weren't just a story but that the people and events were real. Shakky and I told him otherwise but he claimed that he would find proof one day that it was all real."

"You never thought he would find anything?" inquired the Sandaime. "Of course not, there just stories. I was positive that they were just stories...but...that book he found...it's rather odd. The title contains the name of one of the characters in the stories. It probably attracted Naruto's attention immediately. That name isn't really common." replied Rayleigh.

The Sandaime nodded and refilled his pipe. This was getting even more interesting. From spending time with Naruto, the Sandaime did know about the books that the boy cherished. He was proud that one of the books that Naruto liked to read was written by Jiraiya.

"Besides the name.." Rayleigh forged ahead, "..the dedication matches as well and the content is that of the character from the story. That book is the memoirs of the character Roronoa Zoro from the story. The style of writing is that of a person writing their memoirs and the content matches the original books. It would seem that the other of the original works also wrote the memoirs of one of the characters as an addition to the stories perhaps. However that may not be the case. The memoirs are written so differently from the original books and they are written exactly how you would think the character would write. It's confusing as to why the memoirs were written though. The character, Zoro, is part of the group of main characters but not the primary main character."

The Sandaime took all of this information in and was making his own. "Perhaps one was written and the other was plagiarism, or one was written first and the other an afterthought?" suggested the Sandaime.

Rayleigh 'hmmed' and then replied, "If I were to guess which one was the 'original', the individual book or the series, I would say the individual book. The detail in those memoirs is impressive. If I didn't know any better, I would say that the person who wrote that book, wrote it like an autobiography and actually experienced what he wrote about. Not only that, but the person who wrote the book that Naruto is currently reading, was a master swordsman." The Sandaime's eyes widened at that and asked Rayleigh to elaborate.

"People don't write fake memoirs with that kind of knowledge included in them. The depth of knowledge in that book is incredible, it practically details everything about a particular style of swordsmanship. From the very beginning teachings, philosophy, techniques, and even advanced refinement of the style at the end of the book. It's incredible, I've never read anything like it. Their not easy techniques or 'how to get good with a sword quickly', this book details step by step training over the course of decades. You can see how thick it is, that book pretty much tells the life of a swordsman and how he managed to develop his style and techniques." concluded Rayleigh and he sighed.

The Sandaime was just as shocked as Rayleigh. Konoha was never known for its swordsman and yet somehow a book like that got in their possession. "So, is it real?" asked the Sandaime and the reply he got didn't surprise him. "I don't know. If I were to guess, I would say yes but it just doesn't make any sense. The book doesn't even talk about chakra at all. It mentions things like 'spirit' and the 'way of destruction' which are mentioned in the series but nothing like chakra. I can't even say how old it is." said Rayleigh and both men looked over to where Naruto was sitting on the couch. The boy was completely immersed in the book. They may not have needed the privacy tag.

The Sandaime had a thought and got up from his chair, as he crossed the floor of his office to the doors he said, "I will be right back." Leaving the office, the Sandaime went to his study on the floor below. Bypassing his security for the room he thought, 'I never did ask how Naruto-kun managed to get inside my study.' Proceeding into the room, the Sandaime went to the desk and opened the top drawer. He pulled out what appeared to be a notebook and opened it.

Every book in the study was logged in an inventory. The title, author, and information on each book was stored in the inventory which the Sandaime was currently reading. Scanning the pages he found the title of the book in question. "The Memoirs of Roronoa Zoro." Looking at the notation for the book he found that it had been placed in the study over sixty years prior. It was not recovered on a mission but placed there from a collection and there he saw the name. His eyes widened. The person who previously owned this book and had it placed in the study was Uzumaki Mito. 'Mito-sama owned this book? Why did she have it put in the Hokage's study?' were the thoughts running through the Sandaime's mind as he replaced the inventory book in the desk, exited the room, and resealed it.

The Sandaime returned to his office and saw that Naruto was still reading the book. The boy's eyes were full of excitement and the boy was smiling. Looking over to his desk, he found Rayleigh watching the boy. A sad smile was on the man's face but the Sandaime could tell that he was happy that Naruto had found something that made him smile. The Sandaime mirrored the sad smile of Rayleigh's as he too thought what the man was thinking, 'Naruto-kun finds better friends in books than in the village.'

x-x

Uzumaki Residence, several days later

x-x

"Fufufufuf...so this really belonged to Mito-sensei?" asked an amused Shakky. Rayleigh smiled and nodded his affirmation. He had asked the Sandaime if Naruto could keep the book and the Hokage had agreed. The Sandaime had never even known about the book and Naruto appreciated it far more than anyone else who would have access to that room would.

"He's almost finished reading it and he already wants to start using the training methods and training schedule in the book. It's a different training schedule than what I would use and it's going to take a while for Naruto to get adjusted to it. Not many people can just fall asleep practically on command." stated Rayleigh.

"From what I can see, it would be beneficial in that it is a more efficient use of his time. Training for several hours, followed by quick naps in between training sessions would maximize the amount of training he gets in a single day. Of course it is a tough schedule to follow. It also explains why Zoro trains at night and sleeps intermittently during the day in the series." concluded Shakky as she looked through the book at the schedule.

Most people trained during the day and slept at night, however this training schedule spread everything out. A long training session followed by about an hour or more of sleep and then followed by another training session. This repeated itself throughout the day and night. A person who followed this schedule would have to learn how to fall asleep very easily and get adjusted to the schedule. It also meant training at night. Naruto would still get around nine hours of sleep but it would be spread out between training sessions and this would give him plenty of time to recover and catch his breath. Due to his healing abilities, Naruto didn't require much in the way of recuperation time from his daily activities and so he would be able to follow this schedule, whereas most people may not. Naruto didn't need a good nights rest to recover and therefore this method of training would be a better usage of his time.

"Somehow I don't think your up for this kind of training method, Ray-san." Shakky said and her tone implied sadness. Rayleigh knew what she was talking about and agreed. Although he may still be lively, the closer he came to his natural death, the faster his vitality would diminish. He was amazingly active for his age but his body would begin to slow down and several months before he died, he would be completely bedridden. As of yet, he hadn't told Naruto. In Rayleigh's mind, it was better to wait then make Naruto watch the signs as he slowly wasted away. Rayleigh felt it would be placing a burden on the boy, to know that he was going to dieing and not only not being able to do anything about it but watch him slowly get worse. 'Although, I trained his observation skills so well, that he will probably notice anyway. Perhaps I'll wait until around when he turns six and we start on the learning the basics of the Three Eddies.' thought Rayleigh as he sat on the couch in the living room in contemplative silence. Shakky was still looking through the book that Naruto had found and Naruto was upstairs asleep.

(AN: The Three Eddies is Haki training and is exactly the same as the three colors of Haki except I changed the name to be more in tune with the Uzumaki clan as in my story it is a secret jutsu of the Uzumaki clan and the teaching of it was stopped because of the danger involved. Naruto won't start learning it until he is nearly six, so in a few chapters.)

Rayleigh had decided that he would teach Naruto the Three Eddies which were secret jutsu of the Uzumaki clan and the teaching of which had been forbidden by the head of the Uzumaki clan decades prior. Despite the risk involved, Rayleigh was sure that Naruto could survive learning them and if what Shakky thought was true about what was in store for Naruto in his future, then Naruto would need those techniques and more. Life was never easy for a Jinchuriki and whoever tore the Kyuubi from Kushina, may come back for Naruto at some point. Once Naruto turned five, Rayleigh would drastically increase his training regiment to make sure that Naruto was prepared. He planned to spend a good deal of time working on survival and tracking with Naruto so the boy could survive where the training would take place, which was the forest of death.

Nothing would be easy after Naruto turned five. Rayleigh would spend six months preparing Naruto and then six months each on teaching him the three secret techniques. He would only be able to teach Naruto the very basics and then the boy would be on his own to learn the rest from the scrolls that Rayleigh left. After that two year time frame, it would be time for Rayleigh to pass on.

Shakky knew of the secret techniques and, while she had never been taught them, there were times when she had naturally used them in combat or in a tight spot. It wasn't uncommon for women of the Uzumaki clan to manifest one or more of these three abilities naturally to some degree. However, the men of the Uzumaki clan were never able to access them naturally like the women could. At some point, a clan member devised harsh training methods, in combination with fuinjutsu, to be able to manifest and properly use the Three Eddies. After taking on several students, these techniques were passed down. However, it was eventually deemed too dangerous by the clan head as several students over the years were terribly injured or in one case, went insane. Rayleigh had to secretly learn these techniques from an older member of the Uzumaki clan who didn't want the teachings to be lost, despite the risk involved.

So, despite Shakky being able to use those techniques, she had no idea how to teach what she could naturally do to someone else. This power had manifested in Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina, specifically in the final form of the three techniques and they were able to continuously suppress the power of the Kyuubi with the help of their seals. It was said that their chakra was 'special' and this term was used when not talking to members of the clan to keep the forbidden technique a secret. Both women were even able to physically manifest this ability in the form of chakra chains to suppress the will and hatred of the Kyuubi. This power was unique to them as Shakky or even others who naturally manifested these abilities were never able to use chakra chains. This was the main reason why Kushina was chosen for the burden of containing the Kyuubi after her abilities were discovered.

The rest of the things that Rayleigh wanted Naruto to learn were written in the scrolls which Rayleigh had spent the past four years writing for Naruto. They contained all of his knowledge on the Uzumaki clan, its techniques, its jutsu, and its fuinjutsu as well as everything that Rayleigh had picked up on his travels after the destruction of Uzushiogakure. It was a vast amount and it was all Naruto's, sealed with the best security and blood seals that the Uzumaki clan possessed. Information on Naruto's own seal was even in those scrolls. At some point, Rayleigh would teach Naruto the shadow cone jutsu but he wanted to wait until the boy was more mature to handle the B-ranked kinjutsu.

'And now he has a very detailed book on swordsmanship to use when he gets older.' thought Rayleigh as he looked at the book in Shakky's hands. 'If Naruto even masters half of whats in that book, he'll be an incredible swordsman. If he masters it all, he'll be one of the best in a long time.' and Rayleigh smiled with that thought.

"It looks like Zoro-san didn't start using that training schedule until he was older than seven, so it looks like you'll be able to get your beauty sleep, Ray-san." Shakky said and Rayleigh sighed thankfully. He was old and he needed his sleep. He wasn't young anymore and he wasn't going to try and keep up with a crazy schedule like that, no matter what Naruto thought.

Please Review


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

x-x

Chapter VII: Crazy training is a pain

AN: **Naruto is now five years old**

PLEASE VOTE FOR THE POLL

Several people have asked about swords so I placed a poll in my profile. I have already decided on two of the swords that Naruto will eventually use. The third sword will be determined from the results of the poll. I put three choices for voting and I will also be entertaining suggestions. I don't want to put Zoro's first sword, Wado Ichimonji (formerly belonging to Kuina), in the poll because I don't think that Zoro would ever part from it. If people want I can place his second sword, Sandai Kitetsu, in the poll.

Thank you for your reviews and interest in my story

"Now, your next training will involve this deep chasm." said Rayleigh calmly as he pointed down to the foreboding physical feature in front of them. Locally the feature was known as 'The Maw' and it was a large chasm with spiked sides and water flowing at the bottom. It got its name from the fact that it looked like a large jaw had opened in the ground with rows upon rows of spiked teeth.

(AN: This is the same chasm that Jiraiya pushed Naruto into to get him to access the Kyuubi's chakra.)

To Naruto it looked like the entrance to hell. As both individuals stood at the top of this feature, Naruto wondered just what his training was and how the chasm was involved. He couldn't stop the shivers that were going down his spine and he had a very bad feeling when Rayleigh looked over to him with a smile. Naruto was glad that his face mask partially covered his grimace. He was wearing a pair of dark green pants, a burnt orange shirt with a mesh shirt underneath, fingerless black gloves, and standard ninja sandals. His face mask was also a dark green and his hair was his original blonde this week. It was an odd mismatch of colors but Naruto liked it and Rayleigh didn't really care what Naruto wore. A ninja pouch was attached to the back of his waist and he had a shuriken holster on his right leg. He was also still short for his age.

Ever since Naruto turned five, Rayleigh had drastically increased his training regiment. The man had added odd exercises and the element of fear. Naruto's physical training had more than quadrupled in amount. He had to run farther and faster than ever before. Every repetition of his exercises were increased. More pushups, more situps, new exercises that were more difficult, and Rayleigh had even started adding some light weights to the mix. They had gone to one of the training grounds with a body of water on it and Naruto was learning to hold his breath under the water for longer and longer incremented of time. Of course he had to learn to swim first. Rayleigh instructed Naruto on methods to travel faster while on top of and under water. This included sliding on the surface of the water and using chakra to propel himself while under the water.

When he asked Rayleigh why he was practicing holding his breath the answer was far more than he ever thought.

Flashback

x-x

"Having a large lung capacity will greatly help your elemental jutsu later, when you actually learn some that is. Right now it will help your stamina to some degree and it will be useful for your Taijutsu." Rayleigh stated and before Naruto could ask how it would help his taijutsu, Rayleigh continued, "Your Taijutsu is progressing nicely but you want it to flow from one form or move to another without losing your focus, timing, or momentum. To help you, I am going to have you start practicing all your katas under water. When you are able to flow through your forms, the water will not become agitated or turbulent and bubbles won't form around you. You can't use chakra to help you with moving through the water and I will attach weights to make sure you stay on the bottom, therefore you first need to work on holding your breath.

After you have progressed in your form-work, I will have one of my water clones spar with you. This training should increase your taijutsu skills, lung capacity, stamina, give your body good resistance training, and some experience fighting with my water clones." Rayleigh concluded and Naruto couldn't help from openly gawking. He couldn't believe such a simple task as learning to hold his breath under water branched out into multiple training methods and exercises.

x-x

End Flashback

After some initial success with that training exercise, while still getting decimated by Rayleigh's water clones, Naruto planned to work on the same method with his kenjutsu instead of his taijutsu. Although he really didn't have time for that because he was working on other exercises like his survival, tracking, and trap skills in the back hills of Konoha. Rayleigh had set up numerous traps with practice weapons and made Naruto survive out in the woods for several days at a time on several occasions. They had also gone over tracking with his nose, eyes, and ears. Rayleigh had gone over how to enhance the senses and track someone effectively. Naruto did show great skill in this training as they found that he already had enhanced senses but didn't know how to use them yet. Although they found that Naruto's sense of direction and ability to follow a map or any given set of directions for that matter was non-existent. No matter how much they practiced, Naruto had an amazing penchant for getting lost. Only when Rayleigh was walking with him or guiding him did Naruto make it to the destination he wanted. This however did not affect his tracking skills as Naruto could easily follow a trial or sent.

Rayleigh had told Naruto that he was holding off on teaching nature manipulation and therefore elemental jutsu. Rayleigh was confident that Naruto could learn those at a later date and wanted to focus on the physical, mental, and basics of a shinobi. Once Naruto had a good grasp of those aspects, then he could learn elemental ninjutsu and start working on basic elemental composition. Rayleigh planned to teach Naruto the shadow clone jutsu on his sixth birthday and let Naruto use them for training and going to the academy for the first year or so.

Despite the harsh training, Naruto wasn't angry at Rayleigh and knew that the man was helping him to become stronger. Naruto put everything into his training and Rayleigh was proud of him for that. Rayleigh knew that Naruto wasn't a genius. Though Naruto did have a nearly photographic memory thanks to intense training but Naruto was far from a genius. He took after his mother and that made Rayleigh happy as he wouldn't have it any other way. Training Naruto was difficult as Rayleigh needed to explain everything a certain way to get him to understand but he was amazed at the boy's progress. Naruto soaked up everything that Rayleigh taught him and working with an incredible determination. However that still didn't explain what they were doing standing over a deep, dark, and scary chasm.

"So...what am I supposed to learn here." inquired Naruto nervously and Rayleigh merely chuckled at the boys misgivings about being near the chasm. Naruto was rather afraid of heights and given his small size, this chasm seemed enormous. He could barely make out the bottom, which seemed to be a water grave from this height.

"This training combines several things you have already learned together and it makes sure that you are prepared for life or death situations. You will need to use what you know to survive the fall and climb back up." said Rayleigh in a even tone with a smile.

Naruto, busy looking over the edge of the precipice, didn't see the smile and said in a scared voice, "Am I really going to fall..." he was cut off by a push from Rayleigh's hand that sent him over the edge.

As Naruto was pushed over the edge, there was a brief moment of horror after his feet left the ledge and before he started falling. He tried to look back to see if it all was an accident and if Rayleigh was going to catch him but as soon as his eyes came upon Rayleigh, he instantly knew that it was not an accident. The man was smiling and waving 'goodbye' at him after all. He also heard a few words as his body started falling into the chasm, "Try not to die."

For the two seconds or so of free fall Naruto's mind was blank and he had no idea what to do. He was panicking. Eventually his mind started working again and the only thought that he had was 'I'm going to die!'. He then amended that thought with, 'I'm going to die, unless I do something!' and he went with the first thought to stop his descent. Pooling and molding chakra into his hands, Naruto maneuvered his body closer to the pointed rocks on the side of the chasm and reached out for some of the rocks. Unfortunately, he was already traveling too fast and the rocks were too slippery to get a grip and stop his fall. After two successive tries and failure, Naruto wasn't falling nearly as fast as before but he was still falling.

With his first idea a bust, and the bottom of the chasm coming up increasingly fast, Naruto tried something different. Pulling two kunai out of his back pouch, (AN: Rayleigh has given him real kunai to practice with and use since he turned five) Naruto again put chakra into his hands but started using a chakra flow technique that he had been taught to channel chakra into the kunai as well. The chakra amount was rather large as it visibly surrounded his hands and the kunai. The chakra flow lengthened the kunai by two inches and would reinforce and sharpen the kunai while also keeping his hands safe.

(AN: Naruto won't be extending the length of the kunai very far because they are regular kunai and not made of chakra enhancing metal like the swords of the samurai from Iron Country.)

Picking a target, the blonde aimed and struck at one of the spiked protrusions of the face of the chasm. The kunai struck the rock slightly off center and made a large gash in the rock. This slowed Naruto's descent but it was also rather painful due to the jarring on his arm from the impact. Using kunai in both hands and striking different protruding rocks, as the spikes were randomly protruding from the chasm wall, the blonde began slowing his descent. His idea was working but it was painful on his arms and shoulders. The kunai were nearly ripped from his hands more than once.

After an unknown amount of time, his semi-controlled descent ended and he landed on the surface of the water without much of an impact. Naruto looked around the darkened area. The water beneath his feet was dark and he couldn't see the bottom and it wasn't moving very fast. The spiked walls extended above him several hundred feet to the sky above. Looking down the length of the chasm, he was met with darkness on both sides. 'I need to get out of here. I don't know what is downstream or upstream and my only choice right now is to climb up on the spikes.' thought Naruto as he analyzed the situation like Rayleigh and Shakky had taught him.

It was at this point that he noticed the shape of the kunai in his hands. Each weapon had lost its tip at some point during his descent and each was warped slightly out of shape. Frowning, Naruto decided to place the broken weapons back in his pouch and not drop them into the water. They were broken but they could still be used for a distraction or something.

The situation was rather clear to Naruto, he either walked the length of the chasm looking for an exit at either end or he climbed his way out. He had gotten a good look at the chasm from when he was still on the surface and it didn't appear to have an exit, it just seemed to be a narrow, deep, gorge. Naruto decided to try climbing. Walking up to the spikes, he immediately noticed that they were either wet or covered in some kind of slime that made them even more slippery. However, while the ends of the spikes were wet and slippery, farther up, near the base of the spikes was much drier. Although Naruto didn't want to admit it, because of his short size, he may be able to move in between the spikes and climb them using the drier surfaces near the face of the rock. Naruto sighed as he looked up to the opening of this chasm and the sky above. It would take a long time to climb out of here.

'It couldn't hurt to walk the length of the chasm. Even if I don't find an exit at the ends, I might find a good place to start climbing.' thought Naruto and he began walking upstream.

After about ten minutes of walking, Naruto came to the end of the chasm. It narrowed slightly to a thin waterfall and the rocks there were even more wet and slippery than downstream. 'There's no way I am going to climb here.'

Walking back the way he came, Naruto realized that was no longer sure where exactly he had fallen from. This wasn't exactly important because the walls were all the same but he realized that perhaps he should have marked whereabouts he had landed before walking off. More time passed as he walked downstream to the opposite end of the chasm. He stopped as the end came in sight. The walls of the chasm narrowed until they met and that was the end. Looking at the water, he noticed that it flowed into the rock, probably underground through a tunnel.

'I could try to follow the water and see where it goes. I have been training my lung capacity.' thought Naruto. Crouching down, Naruto touched his hand to the water and pulled it right out. It was freezing cold. 'Maybe that's not such a good idea. Then again, I'm not sure if I can climb out of here.'

The thought of calling for Rayleigh to help him had crossed his mind but Naruto wasn't going to do that. This was training and he was probably being tested. If he called for help, Rayleigh might think he was weak.

'I guess climbing it is.' concluded Naruto in his mind. He went up and inspected the rocks at the end of the chasm. These seemed to be less slippery than everything else upstream so he decided that this was as good a place as any to start climbing. He moved in between the spikes and started slowly making his way up the side of the chasm.

x-x

A couple hours later

x-x

From his perch in the spikes, Naruto could see that the sky was getting darker. He had no idea how long he had been in the chasm. He was currently taking another break from climbing by bracing himself between several spikes. In some ways he was thankful that he was so small. As he caught his breath, he looked to the opposite wall and tried to see how far he had come. It looked like he wasn't even half-way. He bit back a curse at that fact. The farther he progressed, the longer the break that he had to take before he was able to climb again. Most of his body was sore, his arms particularly. He really wanted to be back home and having dinner or reading.

x-x

A couple more hours

x-x

He had a pretty bad headache and he was sore all over. Taking a break from climbing just wasn't doing anything anymore. Naruto was getting sleepy and was losing focus on what he was doing. He already had a few close calls and nearly fell several times. 'I just want this to be over. I want to get out of this place. It doesn't seem like I'm progressing any. When will I finally reach the top?' he thought desperately.

x-x

An hour later

x-x

From what he could tell, the sun was down or nearly down. 'In a while I might be able to see the stars.' he thought with a sad smile as he tried to distract himself. His arms felt like weights. He could barely lift them at all. Most of Naruto's body felt numb and he was shivering. With the sun almost down, it was getting much colder and the cold was starting to get to him. 'I just want to sleep a little.' he thought and he had to force his eyes back open. His current location was no place to sleep. Not only did his body hurt but using chakra had started to make his hands and feet, where he was primarily sending his chakra to stick to the spikes, feeling shooting pain and it seemed to be getting worse. He was getting dizzy as well.

Before Naruto's eyes shut again he heard something. It was a chirping that he recognized as a cricket. 'It's just a stupid cricket...wait...if I can hear that... then it means I'm close to the top.' thought a hopeful Naruto. Looking to the opposite wall of the chasm he could make out the top of the chasm and the trees in the darkness. He hadn't even noticed it before. With a weak smile, Naruto called upon the last dregs of his strength and chakra. He willed himself to keep going. Even if it was at an agonizingly slow pace, he was going to reach the top. Slowly, Naruto meandered through the spikes.

When Naruto had finally made it to the top, he managed to get both of his arms onto the grassy ground at the top of the chasm when he realized that he just couldn't pull the rest of himself up. His arms were just too tired. Worried, Naruto tried several times to get his leg over the top of the ledge to help pull himself out of the chasm but he just couldn't. He decided to wait a little while before he completely pulled himself out of the chasm.

Minutes passed as Naruto hugged the lip of the chasm with his legs still perched on a spike and most of his torso above the chasm. He just didn't have any strength left to pull himself up the rest of the way. His slightly desperate thoughts were interrupted when a pair of sandals came into his view. His eyes wandered up to the familiar form of his sensei and he smiled.

Rayleigh noticed the chapped lips of the tired panting boy and was amazed that he had made it that far. Reaching down, Rayleigh lifted Naruto out of the chasm. Without a single word, Naruto was put over Rayleigh's shoulder and he took them both back to Konoha. Naruto promptly passed out.

x-x

Uzumaki Estate, a little later that night

x-x

Naruto's eyes opened and looked up at a white ceiling. At first he wondered what was going on and then his memories came back to him. Taking in his surroundings, he noticed that he was at home, laying on the couch in the living room and under a blanket. His hand reached out to grab a glass of water that was placed on the coffee table but his arms just wouldn't respond. They felt like lead weights and he could barely lift them at all.

Rayleigh came into his vision and Naruto tried to ask him for the water, only to realize how dry his throat was when no words came out. Rayleigh already knew what the boy wanted and moved Naruto into a sitting position while he got the glass and gave the boy some water. Naruto readily drank.

After going to the kitchen and refilling the water, Rayleigh decided to discuss what had happened. "You know, I didn't actually expect you to climb the entire chasm." said Rayleigh with a small smile.

Naruto looked at his sensei oddly and replied in a raspy voice, "What else was there to do?"

"Well this was a test. There is no real right or wrong answer, I just wanted to test you by presenting you with a seemingly impossible task and see how you responded to it. I didn't actually think you would take the task head-on and climb your way out. Hell, I don't think anyone your age or even seven years older could have done what you did." stated Rayleigh in a proud voice and he continued, "You had several different options open to you. Most of which you didn't even think of."

Naruto looked at his sensei and responded, "I wasn't going to follow the water, I had no idea where it went."

Rayleigh smiled, "I'm glad you didn't, that water was rather cold to swim in but just for the record, that water goes underground through a cave system and eventually comes out. If you had taken it, you would have made it out but you realized the danger and didn't take that option. What you missed were the simplest solutions to the problem. You could have asked for help at any point during the test."

Naruto's response was what Rayleigh thought it would be, "I wasn't going to give up!"

"Naruto, you need to realize that asking for help isn't giving up. There are somethings that you just can't do all by yourself. Do you think that Luffy could have sailed the Grand Line himself?" and this gave something for Naruto to think about. Rayleigh often used examples from One Piece because Naruto better understood when he used relevant examples to explain things. Naruto was no genius and Rayleigh understood how best to explain things to Naruto in a way that the boy would understand.

"No." was the answer provided by Naruto.

"Of course not, he couldn't navigate or cook or fix a ship. I wanted you to realize that you can ask for help and it isn't a weakness. Though I was quite impressed with your determination. It reminded me or your mothers favorite saying." said Rayleigh. Naruto looked over expectantly as he wanted to know. "She used to say 'Don't give up until the end' and that was what she lived by. You exemplified that perfectly today and I think she would have been very proud." Naruto smiled at that statement.

"Although I half expected you to use your henge to turn into a bird or something and fly out of that chasm seconds after I pushed you in. I guess you didn't think of it at the time." mused Rayleigh and he got the desired response out of his student.

Naruto's smile had instantly turned to a look of horror and rage on his face and had brought his hands up to grab his hair as if he was going to pull it out. 'I CLIMBED THAT STUPID CHASM FOR NOTHING!' Before he could start shouting obscenities, Rayleigh interrupted his thoughts.

"But then you wouldn't have pushed yourself to your limits and accomplished what you did." spoke Rayleigh. This placated Naruto's feelings someone but it was plain to see that he was still angry and disappointed that he hadn't thought of something so simple.

"Next time something like that happens, you should really think of everything you have at your disposal. Do you have any idea how many times you could have died today? Whether from the fall or from the climb. Just something to think about in the future." said Rayleigh in a lecturing voice.

Naruto's response was simply, "Shut up, old man!" and laid back down on the couch and tried to go to sleep while drowning out the noise from Rayleigh's laughter. There was no way Naruto was going to try and make his way upstairs to his bed, he was far to exhausted.

x-x

The next morning

x-x

His nose twitched and then his eyes opened. Naruto smiled, breakfast was ready. Getting up from the couch, Naruto was made aware that he was still sore from the previous day. He wondered if it would affect his training for the day when he realized that it was Wednesday.

Wednesday was Naruto's day off and he didn't have any training for the entire day. It also meant that he had to try and find something to do for the entire day. Rayleigh had forbade him from training during this day of the week, stating that despite having an extraordinary healing ability, Naruto did need his body to rest at least one day a week. The weekends were out as they were when Shakky visited the most. Lately his Ba-chan (Shakky) had been teaching him infiltration and stealth techniques and also forgery as she stated that since he was learning fuinjutsu from Rayleigh that he could apply what he knew to making forgeries of documents and other things.

Naruto found it rather interesting as he had been taught several techniques to actually use fuinjutsu to remove ink from paper and replace it with other writing, as well as copying an already written document onto a blank scroll without doing it by hand. All he required was ink, a brush, and a specific seal in both cases. The first thing that Naruto did with this information was to copy all six of his most previous books (four One Piece novels, The Gutsy Ninja, and Zoro's memoirs) to new hardbound texts so that he wouldn't keep wearing out the already worn books of One Piece and Zoro. The copying seal required a complicated seal array involving both items and he had to get help from Shakky to be able to use it, as it required a good deal of preparation and concentration. The seal worked by using a large amount of sealing ink to cover a single page at a time and trace or map out the miniscule contours of writing (either pencil or ink) and then copy what it found onto a clean item (which could be a scroll or book). It could be a long process depending on the concentration and experience of the user. It also left no trace that the item had been copied (the sealing ink never bleeds into the paper) and was ideal for espionage. After the process was complete, Naruto kept the originals safe in a storage scroll while he only read from the copies. Naruto also thought it was really fun to use his chakra to make ink move around.

(AN: this jutsu is rather simple compared to what Sai can do with his ink. Its just having the ink move over the page/scroll that you want to copy and also moving over the blank item. It makes an impression of the pencil or pen marks and the makes the same marks on the blank item. Its really like a ninja scanner/copy machine jutsu.)

Naruto had already graduated from generic storage seals and would be learning exploding tags a little bit later. He received a sealing set for his fifth birthday from the Sandaime which was similar to a calligraphy set. Rayleigh had more than one large scroll full of seals that were made by clan members and Naruto wanted to learn as many as he could. Naruto found out that one of the reasons why his clan was so renown when it came to fuinjutsu were their practical applications to enhance their fighting ability.

The Uzumaki clan had created a number of useful seals that were applied to weapons, paper, or people to produce a variety of affects. For example, someone had invented a seal that would be placed on the body, near the head, and that would keep a person's eyes from being impeded by the sun, glare, or even a flash bomb/tag. Other members had invented seals for weapons and clothes to make them stronger and more durable. Apparently Naruto had to learn needlepoint to be able to put seals on clothing as it required special ink-soaked thread and placement of the seal, using a needle, on the clothing. Naruto found it all immensely interesting and actually tried to use his free day to learn more fuinjutsu.

Rayleigh usually disapproved of this as he, as well as Shakky and the Sandaime, wanted Naruto to spend a little more time outside and trying to make friends. It was obvious to anyone that Naruto was distancing himself from all but a select few in the village and he didn't know how to act around children his age. When he went to the park, he usually sat on a bench and read.

Naruto had a great range of emotion with people that he knew, but was rather serious and closed-off around everyone else. Nearly all of the boy's free time was spent reading his books or some of the textbooks/scrolls that Rayleigh had. Seeing as Naruto was going to be entering the academy next year, he had been reading the academy book that Rayleigh had from Uzushio. It contained most of the knowledge that future genin needed to know. It lacked any history or knowledge about the shinobi villages and any information that it did have on those subjects was rather dated.

Regardless of how strong or how competent of a ninja Naruto became in the next few years, the three elders in his life all agreed that he had to spend the normal peace-time education in the academy. This meant that Naruto wouldn't graduate until he was twelve. They did this to help Naruto socialize and be around children his age. Of course, the couldn't force the other children to socialize with him.

As Naruto sat down to breakfast after having gone upstairs to his room to change clothes, Rayleigh asked, "So, what do you plan to do on your day off?" as he poured orange juice for both of them. Naruto thought about this question as he ate his eggs. If Naruto was honest, he really didn't know what to do with his free day. For the past several weeks he would find a nice place to sit and read for a while, bug the Sandaime in his office, or explore more of the village. He mostly stayed away from large crowds of villagers and he wasn't allowed in any of the stores unless he used a henge, however, he really had nothing to buy or that he wanted to buy. He disliked that he wasn't allowed to do anything ninja related on this day. The only response he gave was, "maybe go to the park or explore," and before Rayleigh could say anything Naruto added, "I'll stay away from crowds and alleys and make sure that no one follows me." Rayleigh nodded in acceptance as that was what he was going to say.

So far, the villagers and ninja had no idea where Naruto was staying. Everyone involved had been very careful to keep themselves from being seen entering or leaving the house. Even the neighbors don't know that Naruto lived there, of course there were trees and jutsu preventing anyone from seeing into the small yard and home. To the Sandaime's shock, no one has asked about his whereabouts or any information about him at any of the Sandaime's council meetings in quite some time. Eventually, when they realize that he has been enrolled in the academy, then someone might inquire about Naruto.

Naturally, most villagers and ninja still hated Naruto, but few were curious about him or they were curious but didn't want others to know they were curious and therefore left well enough alone. Rayleigh wasn't one to let his guard down and Naruto followed a set of instructions on how to lose anyone tailing him through the village using his henge and even some basic ninja techniques. He followed this routine every time he entered the house and when he left the house, it was under the henge of a made up person who was supposedly living there. If anyone was able to follow him then thy must have a dojutsu and be actively following him or be an incredible tracker as Naruto's henge could mask and produce fake scents.

After finishing breakfast and Putting his dirty dishes in the sink, Naruto got his ninja pouch and put up his henge. Despite the Sandaime's protests, Naruto carried a ninja pouch with kunai, ninja wire, and several storage scrolls whenever he went into the village. He didn't wear a shuriken holster because it would be obvious to everyone that he was carrying weapons then and a ninja pouch was less conspicuous. It was only ever seen from the back and Naruto usually wore a sleeveless orange sweatshirt that caught more glances then the pouch.

The Sandaime protested because he didn't think that Naruto should carry weapons in his own village, especially since he wasn't a ninja and it was against the law. Rayleigh and Shakky thought it was necessary. Once Naruto put up his henge, the ninja pouch was concealed with the disguise however he wouldn't be able to access it unless the henge was dropped. Naruto always dropped the henge after he had gotten a good distance away from the house and was under cover of trees or brush. He could have left the henge up and played with children in the park but he would have to use a different name and that would be living a lie. Naruto's thoughts were if children or adults couldn't accept who he was, then their was no point in getting to know them. This had come as a direct result of what had occurred several years since. Naruto had accepted that he was the container of the Kyuubi but he couldn't understand the views of the villagers. For the most part, he really didn't care.

As he made his way out of the house and into the residential area, he headed for the nearest area that he could drop the henge, which was small forested area not too far away. His thoughts wandered as he traveled. Passing by smiling people, Naruto knew that as soon as he had dropped his disguise, they would no longer be the smiling people that they portrayed. It seemed like only around him would they show their true selves which they kept hidden under a mask, usually one of a smile. He never really passed by someone that wasn't happy or at least upbeat. Once his disguise was removed, they would glare, whisper, and most likely wish horrible things upon him. Even children his age and older tended not to get near him. He overheard them being scolded or told not to go near him because he was 'a terrible boy' or 'he was dangerous'. The only civilians who didn't care what he contained were the Ichiraku's who owned the ramen bar. It seemed odd that out of all the villagers, only they were able to see him for being a boy named Uzumaki Naruto and not some demon child named Kyuubi. Teuchi idn't care about the fox and he let his daughter Ayame make her own decisions about Naruto and it turned out that she didn't care either. They didn't know anything about fuinjutsu or how the fox was sealed inside of him, they just didn't care about the fox at all.

For that, Naruto felt that he owed the Ichiraku's or that they were more important to him then all of the other people in the village. He ate at their stand whenever he could, left a good tip, and used his henge unless he was with Rayleigh or the Sandaime. Shakky didn't like ramen very much.

Naruto came out of his thoughts when he arrived at his destination. He walked to a secluded area and removed his disguise, then walked toward the park, which he told Rayleigh he was going to. After he got bored sitting on the benches reading, he would probably explore more of the village. Naruto had managed to explore most of the training grounds but he had to stay away from the clan grounds. Most of the major ninja clans owned an area near the outskirts of the village while the large buildings were concentrated near the center. They had forests, training grounds, and numerous homes or in some cases just one or two large clan homes. The Uchiha, Hyuuga, and Aburame grounds were walled off from everyone else. The Nara had fenced off areas to keep some of their deer while the rest were herded outside the village in specific areas for grazing and a laboratory outside of the village, at least that's what Shakky told him. The Inuzuka had fenced in grounds with homes, kennels, and a veterinary hospital. The Yamanaka and Akimichi were the only large clans that didn't have an area for a large clan home. They were spread out in the shopping and market districts and lived spread over an open area of the residential districts among civilians. The Yamanaka owned a flower shop as well as other shops and the Akimichi owned several restaurants and grocery stores. Smaller clans like the Sarutobi and Kurama only had a single clan home in the residential district.

Arriving at the park, Naruto did what he usually did and sat on the bench. His feet just barely reached over the end of the bench and he pulled out one of his copied books and started reading. Every now and then he would look up from his book at the people in the park and see what they were doing. At this time of day it was mostly kids playing on the jungle gym and swing sets. Naruto had tried several times to make friends but it was a lost cause. Giving up wasn't something that Naruto did but it just hurt too much to be disappointed so many times and it left Naruto wondering 'what was the point'.

It wasn't so much the children as it was the parents. He would be told by the other children that their parents told them to stay away from Naruto and have nothing to do with him. If they didn't then they would get into trouble. Other times he was nearly chased away by an angry parent that was either watching their children in the park or had come to pick up or drop off a child. Sitting on the bench in the grassy area of the park was really the closest that he could come to actually enjoying being around children his age.

Truthfully, Naruto rather enjoyed training with Rayleigh more than playing with children his age. Despite the escalation of his training regiment, Naruto still enjoyed working hard and learning new things from his sensei. He could always make friends later, perhaps when he started the ninja academy next year. Perhaps making friends with children that were also training to be ninja would be easier.

x-x

Sitting at the desk in the study, Rayleigh was reviewing the plans and notes that he had which concerned Naruto's training. There was so much that he could teach Naruto but certain things had to take priority above others. Shakky had already agreed to work with Naruto on genjutsu as well as teach Naruto different methods to fight Sharingan users. Shakky would also be working with Naruto on trying to train his eyes to 'see through' genjutsu. Rayleigh was also deciding on the fuinjutsu that he would teach and apply to Naruto. Rayleigh and Shakky were going to place many different seals on Naruto in order to help the boys progress and give him an edge. The only real seals that they had placed on Naruto so far had been the seal that Shakky had placed to change his hair color and a tracking seal to make sure that they didn't lose Naruto. Despite all the training that both guardians had given him, Naruto still managed to get lost while in the village. Shakky joked that he was starting to take on some of Roronoa Zoro's bad traits, probably from reading the man's supposed memoirs.

As it stood now, most the time that Rayleigh had left would be spent on teaching Naruto the basics of the Three Eddies. Rayleigh didn't have time to teach Naruto more advanced ninjutsu or even nature manipulation. He had yet to teach Naruto the shadow clone jutsu but he would eventually. Rayleigh had not wish for Naruto to go around splitting his chakra in half as many times as he could or spamming as many clones at an enemy as possible. That wasn't really fighting, it was just wasteful which was something that Rayleigh was trying to drill into Naruto's head. The boy would have immense chakra reserves and already had about chunin reserves, it was better to get him to conserve his chakra during a fight and outlast his opponents rather then charging in which the boy was prone to doing.

It was a difficult thing to teach for Naruto, and Rayleigh was definitely going to because Naruto was someone that thought of plans in a pinch and not someone to plan out a fight or conserve chakra for other opponents. Rayleigh had seen countless ninja die from going all out on an opponent and not realizing that a second opponent or a hidden enemy was waiting for them after they finished their first battle to easily take them out.

Its not that Rayleigh didn't believe in fighting an opponent with everything that he had but it was a good idea to hold back and not show everything you could do or expend yourself. The ninja world was a world of shadows and in those shadows were opponents who would wait for the right moment to strike.

Looking at the time, Rayleigh put his thoughts and planning on hold as realized that he needed to get going or else he would be late. He had to meet someone for lunch today. It wasn't a date, merely to discuss a sensitive topic. It wouldn't do to keep a young woman waiting.

x-x

Local Dango Restaurant

x-x

Arriving nearly fifteen minutes early, Mitarashi Anko positioned herself in the back corner of the dango shop that she favored above all others. It was a small shop that sold the food she practically lived off of and from her seat she could see everyone that entered or exited. She was currently deep in thought about her meeting with the Hokage early today.

She hadn't found it rather strange that the Sandaime had called her to his office, though she believed it was for a mission. When she arrive, it turned out that the meeting concerned a darker matter that Anko was never very comfortable talking about. She hated even thinking about the black seal that rested on her shoulder. It would act up at odd times and she was sure it was responsible for her nightmares that she experienced off and on. If there was one thing that she perhaps hated more than Orochimaru, it was the seal that he had branded her with.

That seal was the one proof that the village had that she was undeniably tainted by or in collusion with her former sensei and therefore should be treated as a traitor and possibly brainwashed spy. The village elders and even members of the ninja clan council were convinced of this fact. Despite that nearly every test and mind-walk jutsu known to the village had been used to prove otherwise, the presence of the seal spoke otherwise to them. She really only had the Sandaime and a few counselors on her side in the matter but she knew it would greatly effect her ninja career.

Anko was just over fifteen and despite her great skill, she had barely made chunin three years earlier and she knew that the seal and unfounded prejudice against her had been the deciding factor in her not being allowed to take the jonin exam. The only bright light was that she was being considered for the Interrogation Division of ANBU and not the regular ANBU forces. This meant that she might get a promotion to tokubetsu jonin and not the full jonin rank.

It was quite a surprise when she entered the Sandaime's office and he informed her about a man currently staying in the village who had great experience with fuinjutsu. It didn't take Anko a second to realize where the Hokage was going with this train of thought. The Hokage himself had been the one to place additional fuinjutsu on her seal to restrict it as best as he could with his seal knowledge. The only person with greater knowledge of fuinjutsu in Konoha was Jiraiya of the Sannin. For her part, Anko didn't want that pervert anywhere near her body. She didn't care how much knowledge the man had in fuinjutsu, he wasn't getting near her.

Anko still had difficulty trusting anyone and thought he would undoubtedly feel the same way as the villagers felt about her. However, the Sandaime had assured her that the man was never a ninja of Konoha and had only been living in the village for just over five years. This meant that he arrived in the village after Anko was found and brought back to the village and that he may not care about her ties to Orochimaru. To help further assuage her misgivings, the Hokage asked that she meet the person at a place of her choosing without him knowing what they were going to discuss so that she could see for herself what this person was like.

It took several hours of the morning for Anko to come to a decision. The one thing that Anko didn't want was to get her hopes up and be let down. She did agree to meet the person though and spent an hour coming up with a few questions to ask and determine how she wanted to get information out of him without giving away anything about the seal. She was still trying to figure out what she wanted to say and how to start the conversation as she sat waiting in the dango shop.

Anko was brought out of her thoughts when some people entered the shop. None of them seemed like an old seal expert seeing as they were just a young couple. The purple haired kunoichi glanced at her watch and found she still had a couple minutes until the meeting time. 'I don't want to give anything away but I need to find out about this person and he will obviously want answers as soon as he gets here.' Anko thought.

Trying to get someone to tell you about themselves while not even telling them why they were meeting you was more difficult in this situation than on a mission. She also would need to convince him into helping her as the Sandaime said that he couldn't force the man as he wasn't one of his ninja. She couldn't threaten this person as he was just a civilian and he could walk away at anytime and not help her at all. Anko wasn't known to be 'civil' with what she wanted and more often then not resorted to violence. 'I could always seduce him' she thought but if the Sandaime labeled the man as 'old' then it might not be such a great thought. 'But if he can do something about the seal then it will be worth it no matter how old he is.'

A new person entered the shop this time and Anko could sense his chakra even before he entered. The man looked familiar and it didn't take Anko long to recognize him as the man that had given her his dango and a little cash on her birthday five years ago. The man looked around the shop and smiled as he saw her. She noticed that it was the same smile he had given back then. Anko also noticed he had more wrinkles then the last time they met which was understandable for a five year time gap. He walked over to where she was sitting but this time Anko didn't prepare a kunai.

"I suppose you might be the young kunoichi that I am supposed to meet here?" Rayleigh asked after he eased himself into the chair across from the purple haired ninja.

"If your the old seal expert that I'm supposed to meet?" Anko inquired smoothly and Rayleigh's smile only widened. To be honest, Anko still wasn't exactly sure what to say next, the curse seal that her former sensei had given her was not something she ever wanted to talk about to anyone but Rayleigh continued the conversation for her. "Shall we eat something before we start talking business? My treat." offered Rayleigh and Anko agreed. Free dango was the best kind of dango in her opinion.

Anko ordered quite a bit of dango, red bean paste, and saki just to test Rayleigh's reaction to her abusing his generosity. In response, Rayleigh only laughed and ordered himself a lesser portion of what Anko ordered. This did put Anko slightly at ease because the man in front of her didn't seem to care that she was taking advantage of his generosity and he showed no hostility towards her. In fact, he actually started a conversation and seemed interested in what she had to say. 'This might be the best date I've ever had.' thought Anko as they conversed.

x-x

Naruto had left the park and was walking through the less crowded areas of the village. It hadn't taken that long for him to decide to leave. He found the noise of the children rather distracting for his reading and he didn't want to sit there anymore. His book was in one of the large pockets of his khaki cargo shorts.

It didn't take long for the 'whisperings' to start reaching his trained ears. He heard mention of the 'Kyuubi' as well as several terms to describe himself and even some wild rumors about what was under his mask or about something he had supposedly done. He still had his mask on, which was a very dark green, and his hair was the same original blonde it had been the day before. He guessed perhaps it was the mask that gave himself away so easily, of course he noted that if he didn't have the mask on and they saw his whisker marks, they would notice him immediately anyone.

One voice in particular caught his full attention.

"Kyuubi, what's Kyuubi?" said the disembodied voice.

It was a soft voice with no hint of malice and it seemed to come from someone near his age. Turning to find the speaker, Naruto saw a small girl surrounded by several adults that all had similar features. They had mostly dark hair, ranging in length, pale skin, heads wrapped with white bandages, long traditional clothing, and white eyes were all present among the adults. He also noted that several pairs of eyes had a slight lavender tint to them and no pupil.

As Naruto kept walking, his eyes focused on the girl alone. She had short hair that was a dark blue color and similar eyes like those of the adults surrounding her. Her cheeks seemed to have a slight blush to them. She would easily be described as 'cute' by Shakky. Her attention seemed to be divided between himself and an adult that she was walking closest to. It seemed that he was the one whom her question was directed to.

"Hinata-sama, you needn't concern yourself with something like that." answered the man next to her and Naruto could tell that he was nervous or uncomfortable with the subject. The girls looked back at Naruto and their eyes met for the first time.

Naruto noted that she held no malice for him or was frightened by him in any way. Her eyes were more curious than anything.

Hinata noted that the eyes of the blonde haired boy wearing the mask looked sad and lonely. She also noticed that he did something that no one had ever done with her before, he waved to her. It was a wave that said 'Hi' to her and she found this very strange.

Members of the Hyuuga clan, both Main and Branch members, had codes of conduct for interaction with others from the clan or from outside of the clan. Among them, waving was considered to be 'beneath the Hyuuga' and a 'simplistic gesture' not suitable for clan members to use. The most that anyone from the Hyuuga clan would give to acknowledge or greet anyone else was a brief nod or bow.

Thus, this 'simplistic gesture' that was unfit for the Hyuuga clan made the shy young heiress even more curious than she had been. However, before she could do anything else, one of the clan members stepped in front of her field of vision and blocked her view. Another member told her that they needed to get going while the remaining members, the ones she couldn't see, glared at Naruto as he walked away.

Naruto wasn't sure why he had waved to the girl. He found himself waving before he even realized what he was doing. The girl, Hinata, didn't seem to have any negative feelings about him. However, Naruto realized it was only a matter of time before someone told her to think differently.

It had happened before. Naruto would find a friend that didn't think like the villagers did but within a day or so, that same person would refuse to be around Naruto. It was usually some story about their parents forbidding them from playing with Naruto or even being near him. They also wove stories about Naruto being dangerous or unstable and that he might harm them. That had happened enough times for Naruto to know not to ever get his hopes up or try to make any friends. They would all leave him after a while. In the end, the only ones he could count on were Rayleigh, Shakky, the Sandaime, and the Ichiraku's.

'Though, it was nice to see someone new that didn't look at me like the rest of the villagers.' thought Naruto with a sad smile hidden by his face mask.

x-x

Uzumaki Estate

x-x

"So where did you go today?" Naruto asked Rayleigh who was making dinner. Naruto had spent the rest of his afternoon on the top of the Hokage monument, sitting on the Yondaime's head. He read his book until the sun set on the horizon.

"What makes you think I went anywhere?" questioned Rayleigh as he was curious as to what had lead Naruto to that thought.

Walking into the kitchen, Naruto watched as Rayleigh cooked and answered in an amused voice, "When I came back your sandals were placed differently then they were when I left. I can also smell sake and dango coming from you, but the sink is dry and there are no dirty dishes, so you must have gone out for dango for lunch. I find that odd since we have plenty of food in the fridge and pantry so you may have been meeting someone. Your wallet is also a lot emptier then I remember it being this morning so you must have paid for someone else's meal or bought something while you were gone." said Naruto as he inspected the contents of Rayleigh's wallet newly pilfered wallet.

"Give me back my wallet you little thief!" said Rayleigh with mock anger as he snatched back the wallet from Naruto's grasp. He didn't show it but he was impressed by the boy's answer. Both he and Shakky must have taught Naruto rather well. 'Though I don't remember teaching him how to steal a person's wallet. It must have been Shakky. I can't believe he managed to get it from me without me noticing and he said he took it this morning too.' thought Rayleigh with pride, frustration at what Shakky was teaching Naruto, and some disbelief. Naruto had managed to figure out that Rayleigh had left and where he may have gone just in the couple of minutes since he arrived back home.

His meeting with Mitarashi Anko had gone rather well and although she didn't talk about the seal that the Sandaime wanted him to look at, the young woman trusted him more than she had when he first arrived. They were meeting again the following Wednesday when both of them were free and hopefully she would be more willing to talk about what she wanted him to look at. It was obvious that whatever the seal was, it was very difficult for her to talk about and she needed to trust him more before she was willing to tell him anything.

As Naruto went to wash up for dinner, Rayleigh's thoughts wandered to Naruto's trainings. After Naruto finished his survival training, he would start teaching him the Three Eddies and how to use his 'life force' which was what the Uzumaki and Senju clans were gifted with. They possessed strong physical energy and strong life force. Few knew this about the two clans and few the clan members were ever able to use their life force to their advantage. In order to harness the three techniques that Rayleigh wanted to teach the boy, Naruto would first have to learn to feel and use his life-force which was incredibly difficult.

While some Uzumaki women were able to do this naturally, most Uzumaki men or even Senju men would never be able to do this. Rayleigh was one of many Uzumaki that were trained to do it and the Shodai Hokage actually managed to do it through his wood release, which was part of why he was able to suppress Biju. The Shodai was able to transfer his 'will' or his 'life-force' through his wood jutsu and make Biju submit as well as control them.

Rayleigh hoped that Naruto would be able to at least learn to feel his life-force and perhaps even learn to use his life-force before he passed on.

(AN: So basically Rayleigh will be teaching Naruto how to use Haki like he did for Luffy. This is sort of my explanation of the bloodline that the Senju and Uzumaki have. The body of the sage provides large amounts of physical energy and 'willpower' or in some translations a large 'life-force'. I noticed the similarity that neither Haki nor that extra part of the bloodline were really explained. They both seem very similar so I wanted to have Naruto learn it because he apparently is gifted with a large life-force from the bloodline which could translate as having a large amount of Haki. Also it seems like Haki is sort of inherited in One Piece so there was a very good similarity to the bloodline of the Senju and Uzumaki ancestor.)

Please Review


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

x-x

Chapter VIII: To the Forest of Death we must go

AN: It looks like the poll will be Shuusui as the third sword that Naruto will be using seeing as around eighty percent of people voted for that sword.

**Devil Fruits**: Several people have asked about devil fruits and why I haven't mentioned them. The reason that I haven't is because I don't want Naruto to go off looking for one and, in my story, he won't find one. There is such a thing as having too many abilities and I don't want Naruto to have a devil fruit or to try and find one. If Naruto had a devil fruit then why would he want to use swords when he would have numerous abilities with the fruit. That is the main reason why I just haven't mentioned them because I just don't want them in this fanfiction. I don't want things in my story to get too complicated by using devil fruits so no fruits will be found by anyone and no character will have abilities as a result of eating a devil fruit. Ninja already have incredible abilities without having devil fruits so I don't really see a need to have them.

**Swords in the Naruto World**: Its difficult to have any classifications in the Naruto World for swords as most swords used by ninja are very generic, save the swords of the seven swordsman. One Piece has several grades and classifications for swords in the story and each is unique and essentially a work of art as well as a weapon. The Naruto World doesn't have that, so I wanted to put together something really basic to explain swords and even just weapons in the Naruto World. I don't expect anyone to be impressed with my naming system.

Most of the grading in the ninja world is based on how much chakra enhancing metal is present in the sword/weapon. The more of this particular metal, the stronger, more durable, and better channeling of chakra a sword/weapon has. This means that a ninja needs more chakra with a lower grade weapon to get the same results as with a higher grade weapon.

Unknown blades: During several hundred years of fighting between ninja clans and three ninja wars, numerous swords have exchanged hands, been taken, been destroyed, or been collected by someone who keeps them for display purposes or part of a collection. Therefore many swords have been forgotten about as well as any sword grading system that went along with them. In some cases it would take a very good eye or experience to tell an exceptional sword from just an ordinary blade so some blades go unnoticed. These blades also are made from chakra enhancing metal at varying amounts.

Standards Weapons - these weapons do no have any chakra enhancing metal in them, are relatively cheap, but chakra can still be channeled through them, just not as well as with chakra enhancing metal. Weapons include: shuriken, kunai, senbon, ninja wire, and basic swords.

Medium Grade – These weapons have some amount of chakra enhancing metal in them which makes them slightly more expensive, more durable, and easier to channel chakra into. Weapons include: ANBU swords, Root Anbu tanto's, and other blades used by elite ninja of villages.

Kumo Swords – The standard swords from Kumo that a large portion their ninja are seen wielding are actually better than normal swords because Kumo is able to afford better weapons for its ninja. These swords have more chakra enhancing metal and are more durable then the medium grade.

High Grade – About one quarter to half of the material used to make the weapon is chakra enhancing metal. These weapons are more durable, stronger, and better at channeling chakra. These are usually specially made.  
Examples include: Asuma's trench knives, Sora's three bladed knife, Zabuza's Kubikiri Hocho.

Iron Country Samurai Swords – Swords from Iron Country are reputed to be of a high quality and are able to be produced on a larger scale than most other weapons that can channel chakra as efficiency as they can. They are specially made by samurai in Iron Country and their methods are not shared with others

Specially Attuned Grade – These weapons are made with a large amount of chakra enhancing metal and made specifically for the wielder to use or for a specific chakra nature. This makes the weapon more efficient at channeling chakra for the user or more efficient at channeling a specific chakra nature. Unfortunately, the special method to attune the blade to a wielder or chakra nature also makes the blades more easily broken and more brittle than other blades with such a large amount of chakra enhancing metal. They are also much more expensive because few can make these blades. Most blades of this type are made shorter as a longer blades would be more prone to snapping or breaking.  
Examples include: Killer Bee's seven vibrating blades, White light chakra sabre, Kurosuki Raiga's twin swords.

Kusanagi Grade – The highest grade of blade are composed entirely of the purest chakra enhancing metal. This requires a master swordsmith to create and each blade is unique. The blades channel chakra efficiently and with all natures while remaining incredible durable. They are so called Kusanagi blades because they approach the sharpness and durability of the legendary Kusanagi no Tsurugi, although none of the blades are able to mimic the special abilities of the actual kusanagi. These swords tend to cost a fortune due to the rarity and difficulty in making such a blade.  
Examples include: The Kusanagi no Tsurugi, Sasuke's Chokuto (This is my explanation for Sasuke claiming that his sword is a sword of Kusanagi. He was just stating, in a very arrogant way, that the grade of his sword is the same as the legendary sword.)

Other Blades

Exotic: Many blades in the Naruto World are not even made of metal and aren't able to be classified because of this fact. These blades tend to have special abilities and in one case is actually sentient.  
Examples include: Samehada, Hiramekarei, Raijin no ken (sword of thunder god)

**A month has passed since the last chapter, so Naruto is still five**

Staring at the metal chain-link fence in front of him, Naruto again found himself wondering exactly what he was doing in a place such as what stood before him. 'Ray-sensei must be trying to get me killed again.' were his thoughts on the current situation. Rayleigh had told him that he was taking Naruto somewhere for some survival training. Naruto wasn't really worried as he had spent time outdoors before but when Rayleigh corrected his statement and said that it was 'extreme survival training', all sorts of alarms went off in his head.

It didn't help any that the fence before him had signs on it stating, "DANGER! NO ENTRY TO UNAUTHERIZED PERSONEL!". Everything was made much worse by the incredibly large forest behind the fence. In fact, Naruto was wondering if the fence was to keep people out or keep something in. He had never seen trees that large before. They seemed to dwarf any other tree he had ever seen and there was a whole forest full of them right before his eyes.

"So, you probably have some questions." stated Rayleigh with a smile. Rayleigh was carrying a medium sized sealing scroll (larger than the scrolls that can fit in the ninja pouches and much smaller than Jiraiya and Tenten's large scroll) that he was carrying. The elder man could easily make out the boys terror at the forest looming in front of them. Few people would willingly go into this forest.

Naruto's only response to the question was a nod. The orange haired (he changes his hair color every week) boy kept his eyes glued to the forest. He had the feeling that the entire forest was watching him and that thought gave him a sinking feeling in his gut. 'I'm feeling the urge to run.' thought Naruto.

"Well, this lovely piece of land is training ground forty-four, also known as the Forest of Death..."

'Urge to run rising.'

"...and is home to a multitude of danger plants, insects, and animals. Many of the plants are poisonous and, no that I think of it, many of the insects and animals are poisonous too. Also everything tends to grow much larger in this forest than in any other forest you've seen." continued Rayleigh.

'Urge to run rising even higher.'

"And you'll be staying here for the whole week..." Rayleigh's speech was cut off when Naruto bolted in the direction of the village, or what he thought was the direction of the village. The direction he was headed was the straightest and most direct route towards the ocean. 'Maybe his goal is to head for the ocean and cross it.' Rayleigh mused as he deftly moved and snatched Naruto, using chakra to stick his hand to the boys right should.

Naruto was held firmly several feet above the ground and his legs were still making the motion of running. If what Rayleigh had said moments earlier, about the forest and Naruto staying for a week inside of it, was a joke then he would have been laughing at the comical state that Naruto was in. However he was serious about the accommodations and length of stay, so he waited nearly half a minute for Naruto to stop running in the air and calm down.

By agreement between Rayleigh and the Sandaime, Rayleigh was forbidden from taking Naruto onto training ground forty-four. Of course if Naruto went into it on his own then Rayleigh couldn't get in trouble and would keep his promise.

Naruto eventually gave up on running or trying to get Rayleigh unstuck from his shoulder and calmed down enough to yell. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'M NOT STAYING ANYWHERE NEAR THAT CRAZY FOREST!"

"That's understandable but unless you pass this training, I won't feel comfortable teaching you the next set of techniques from our clan."

Naruto stopped yelling and struggling. His narrowed his eyes and looked at his sensei warily. He did want to learn more techniques and had been bugging the man for some time now. Against the small amount of common sense that he possessed he asked, "What kind of techniques?"

"I suppose they would classify them as secret clan techniques but these three were labeled as forbidden several decades ago, so no generation learned them beyond my own." stated Rayleigh.

Naruto eyes widened and his mind started thinking. 'They must be powerful if they were made forbidden, but I wonder why the forest is involved.' "Why do I have to go into the forest?" asked Naruto.

"To use the three techniques requires having several near-death experiences and overcoming them. The training for them is also arduous and dangerous and that was the reason that it was labeled as forbidden. I want to make sure you can handle it, so I am testing you with the forest." lectured Rayleigh.

Naruto seemed skeptical about the techniques. True they were forbidden and that was a big plus in his book but that didn't tell him how good they were. "So...how good are these forbidden techniques?" Naruto asked while trying not to sound that interested but Rayleigh easily saw through him.

"I suppose that if you managed to master all three, which would take you quite some time, then you would be quite a powerful shinobi. Of course you won't master these techniques overnight. It will most likely take years to..." Rayleigh stopped his lecture as he saw that Naruto had completely spaced out and was no longer paying attention. He also noticed that there was as wet spot forming on his face mask, which indicated to him that Naruto was drooling. Rayleigh merely rolled his eyes at his young student and placed the scroll that he was carrying on the ground.

Unsealing the scroll, several items revealed themselves after the puff of smoke dissipated. A blue sheathed tanto appeared next to a shuriken pouch, a brown sleeveless sweatshirt and an extra ninja pouch. The puff of smoke brought Naruto's attention back from his delusions of grandeur to the situation at hand. Staring at the items, Naruto wondered if he needed all of them. Then again, he was going to be staying in a nightmarish forest for the next week, so he was glad to have them.

Rayleigh watched sadly as Naruto started equipping the items that he unsealed from the scroll. If he had more time in this world, then he wouldn't need to push the boy as hard as he did. Naruto trusted him completely and that was the reason why the boy did what Rayleigh asked of him and had agreed not to tell the Sandaime about any of the 'special' training that they did. It did seem terrible in a way. Rayleigh was in a sense bribing the boy with techniques or using his trust to have Naruto go through incredibly dangerous training and he did feel guilty about it. If Naruto was years older than he wouldn't even worry but he was not even six years old yet. Was it necessary to put Naruto through all of this? At times Rayleigh didn't think it was but other times he knew that he wanted Naruto to be as prepared as possible for the ninja world. 'Especially after I am no longer in it.' he thought.

Not everyone had a biju sealed inside them, a village that generally disliked him, and possibly someone that might come after him in the future that had released the Kyuubi in the first place and who was also responsible for the deaths of his parents and countless others. Even Shakky, with all her contacts wasn't able to find out anything about the person who released the Kyuubi. There was still a possibility that it was somehow Uchiha Madara since he was the only one to ever control the Kyuubi besides the Shodai Hokage.

In any case, Rayleigh needed to train Naruto far harder than he would ever want to train another child. Naruto could easily die in the forest and Rayleigh was going to keep tabs on him but he couldn't be in the forest twenty four hours a day for the whole week. Rayleigh didn't have the stamina that he used to and he could already feel his strength waning even faster than it had been years earlier. He had to trust that Naruto could survive on his own because Naruto would eventually be on his own.

After putting on the sweatshirt, the pouches, and the tanto, Naruto inspected all that he had: One ninja pouch that had kunai, a few small scrolls, and exploding tags. A shuriken holster that was nearly too big to fit on his thigh. A second ninja pouch with several more scrolls and kunai. A tanto strapped above the two ninja pouches that was the equivalent to a short sword to Naruto's small body. A very dark green and rather heavy sleeveless sweatshirt. Naruto thought that it had one or more layers of chain mail in it and perhaps similar materials to a vest that ninja wore.

Naruto finished looking over everything he now had and looked to Rayleigh for more instruction. Rayleigh came out of his thoughts and said, "To complete this training, you must stay inside the fenced area for one whole week. You can't make camp at the fence or use the large tower that is located at the very center of the forest. The entire forest is about ten kilometers in diameter and you can stay anywhere you like within. Shakky has given you three scrolls with information about the forest. The first is a rudimentary map that indicates several areas that are the territories for the more...'aggressive' inhabitants. The second is a detailed scroll with information on the few plants and animals that are safe to eat. There aren't many safe things to eat so its a thin scroll." Rayleigh added a joke to his lecture but he wasn't expecting Naruto to laugh and he continued, "...and the third and final scroll is a listing of some of the plants, animals, insects, arachnids, and other organism that you should watch out for, lest you be taken by surprise."

Naruto felt the urge to run again but knew Rayleigh would catch him and he also wanted those three techniques that Rayleigh mentioned. He decided that he wasn't going to run from this training, at least not a second time, and that the first thing that he was going to do when he had a chance was look through those scrolls. 'Shakky-bachan is always looking out for me. I guess this was why she taught me that jutsu last week.' Naruto thought as the previous week Shakky had insisted that he learn probably the coolest technique he had ever seen and mentioned that it might save his life in the near future. Apparently this week was the 'near future' and his life would definitely need saving from this forest.

"Was there anything else that I needed to know, Ray-sensei?" Naruto asked in a calm voice with renewed confidence.

"Ohohoho...did you find your courage, just a few moments ago you were trying to run away as fast as you could." chided Rayleigh in an amused voice. He was actually curious as to what had changed in his student.

"This forest is nothing! I'll be fine for a whole week, in fact I might even stay a few days extra." Naruto boasted to his sensei.

"Hmm...that sounds like a good idea..." stated Rayleigh and Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing this as he stared at his sensei with disbelief, "...how about nine days in the forest then, that sounds good." finished Rayleigh while in a thinking pose and nodding his head.

"T-t-that sounds fine. Nine days is no big deal." said Naruto in a smaller voice while trying not to sound scared at the daunting prospect of staying longer in the forest.

"Alright, ten days it is then." concluded Rayleigh with a smile and Naruto felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

'What did I just get myself into?' thought Naruto horrified at the prospect of staying an extra three days in the forest.

Rayleigh's thoughts on the matter were rather different than the smile he had on the outside. 'I'm sorry Naruto, but I can't let you go around boasting about yourself like that, especially when we both know you can't back up that boasting. Arrogance is a killer in the ninja world and you need to learn that lesson.' thought Rayleigh sadly.

"Are you sure about ten days, I think nines plenty." stated Naruto in an attempt to lessen the duration of his training.

Rayleigh could hear the worry in Naruto's voice but when it came to training, he was Naruto's sensei first and he wasn't going to let Naruto boast like that without learning a hard lesson. "Are you sure? After all that boasting I thought you would welcome some extra time in the forest." stated Rayleigh sarcastically and Naruto hung his head.

"If you hadn't been so arrogant about it, you would have only spent seven days in the forest of death but now you have to spend ten. I am sorry but you brought this upon yourself and you have to deal with the consequences of your boasting. You also shouldn't let the things that other people say get to you so much. Its perfectly alright to be scared, you don't have to compensate or cover it up with boasting. I won't think any less of you if your afraid. Trying to make the situation appear less than it really is in order to give yourself a false sense of security isn't a good idea. You should remember those things during your extra three days of residence in this training ground. That forest is dangerous, you could get injured or even die. Staying in it for seven days or even ten days is not something most chunin would be willing to do. I want you to learn a lesson from this experience; arrogance and boasting won't help you at all, they tend to get you into more trouble and more dangerous situations." Lectured Rayleigh in a sad but firm voice.

"Do any characters from your books boast about themselves or say arrogant things?" Before Naruto could give his immediate answer, Rayleigh interrupted him, "Anyone besides that Usopp character, as he's not arrogant, just a chronic liar." Naruto shook his head 'no'. Usopp was the only protagonist that boasted about himself but those were all blatant lies. The only other characters that were arrogant were the antagonist characters and Naruto wasn't going to start naming them as they weren't people he wanted to have as role models or start emulating.

"Since your stay inside the forest has been extended, you should look at those three scrolls that Shakky made for you now and memorize them before you go in." said Rayleigh as he did feel guilty about making Naruto stay several extra days.

Naruto smiled at his sensei and Rayleigh smiled back. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, Naruto put aside his fear and anxiety to look at the scrolls. Looking through the information quickly, Naruto memorized everything they contained. Once he was finished, he had a good idea of what he would have to do in order to survive. He nodded at his sensei and proceeded to the forest.

Once Naruto arrived at the fence and took a closer look at the forest a good portion of the blood in his face completely left him. He also couldn't stop his legs from shaking. At that very moment, Naruto would rather have been in the most crowded area of the village, on the day of his birthday, with a sign protesting the unfair treatment of the Kyuubi than anywhere near this forest.

"Just so you know," yelled Rayleigh while Naruto's back was to him, "I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't think you could survive and become stronger."

Naruto's response wasn't what Rayleigh thought it would be. In a very serious voice Naruto said, "I think I'm starting to come down with I-Can't-Go-Into-This-Forest-Syndrome."

They both looked at each other and Rayleigh started laughing out loud, "Wahahahahah...I bet you are!"

Naruto didn't say anything else but smiled underneath his mace mask as he watched a chuckling Rayleigh walk back towards the village. Despite his misgivings, and his current illness, Naruto jumped the fence and entered the training ground.

x-x

Sealing Room, ANBU Headquarters (an hour or so later)

x-x

"Are you sure all this is necessary, Rayleigh?" asked Mitarashi Anko as she sat inside a sealing room. Rayleigh was putting the finishing touches on the markings for the seal that he had devised. Fuinjutsu markings spread from the seal on Anko's shoulder down her body and onto the floor of the room. She still had a bra and her skirt on.

After meeting with him four times at the dango shop, Anko decided that she could trust Rayleigh. They had many discussions during those meeting and both told each other about their lives. Anko knew that Rayleigh was raising after a young relative of his in the village and that Rayleigh was dying. She didn't take the news very well because she had just met one of the few people in the village who she got along with and didn't judge her like the rest of the village. Rayleigh found out about her past with Orochimaru and the seal on her shoulder.

Rayleigh had spent the next three weeks examining and studying the seal that was placed on the purple haired young woman. With all of his experience in seals, Rayleigh was able to figure out most of what the seal did. Rayleigh could tell that the seal had two functions. The first function was what Rayleigh had been unable to completely figure out. What he did know was that when the seal was activated by the user, the seal began spreading across portions of the body. As it spread, the seal would activate something in the body while also forcibly pulling chakra from the cells for the user to use in their chakra pathways but also infusing it in the skin, bones, and muscles.

The progression of the seal spreading was initially limited, it wouldn't cover ever inch of the body but create something like a full body tattoo with parts of seal ink and parts of unblemished skin. By the choice of the user, the progression of the seal could be furthered to cover the entire body and increase its affects. Rayleigh had no idea what the actual affects were because he didn't know what it was in Anko's body that the seal was supposed to trigger.

The second part of the seal was even worse in Rayleigh opinion. Orochimaru had placed a large amount of his chakra and also a part of his 'essence'. The technique was similar to how the shadow clone jutsu works. The shadow clone is separate from the creator but can think for itself and fulfill the will and desire of the creators. An amount of Orochimaru's chakra had been used in the same way and placed into the seal. Therefore that amount of chakra was almost a sentient entity that had been given a task from its creator. The task was to taint the chakra of the person that the seal was placed on and to corrupt the mind.

The seal tainted the chakra by taking a portion of the person's total chakra reserves and mixing it with the chakra from Orochimaru, then sending it back to the body to mix. Because the seal is mixing with the chakra of the person's body and is in a sense, living off them, the chakra in the seal can try and corrupt or influence the person's mind.

Rayleigh had hope for Anko because she had never activated the seal before and she resisted the seals influence. Therefore the seal had a limited hold on her. Rayleigh's plan was to first place a powerful containment seal over-top Anko's and then try to destroy the entity present in the seal. The best chance of doing this was not from outside but rather from inside Anko's mind. Rayleigh planned on entering Anko's mind-scape with her and fighting the 'piece' of Orochimaru there. Since Anko resisted the seals corrupting influence and had for many years, whatever they found in her mind-scape wouldn't be anywhere near as powerful as the real Orochimaru.

Once the entity was destroyed, the seal would be crippled. This was the best method that Rayleigh could come up with. He couldn't just try and remove the seal because of its complexity and his lack of knowledge about what it actually activated and the existence of another chakra that was closely tied to Anko's.

"Yes Anko, all this is necessary." said Rayleigh as if he were scolding a child which he technically was. "I just have to finish a little bit over here and then we can begin."

"Fine, just hurry it up, you shouldn't keep a lady waiting." Anko said with a smirk.

Rayleigh chuckled and said, "No I probably shouldn't, but this old man doesn't move as fast as he used to."

Anko's smirk turned into a sad smile that Rayleigh couldn't see as he was working behind her. She really liked Rayleigh, he was easy to talk to, fun to be around, had the best stories, and he looked at her like a person. She hated the fact that he wasn't going to be around much longer.

"All finished." came Rayleigh's voice from over Anko's shoulder and she was brought out of her thoughts to the task at hand.

"Just to reiterate, I am going to first remove Sarutobi-san's restricting seal that he placed and then activate the seal that I placed. While this is happening, you will be entering your mind-scape which you have been practicing to learn how to enter for some time now. Inside your mind, we will confront the representation of the seal. Once we enter the mind-scape, I will explain more but right now it would only confuse and over-complicate things. So, ready?"

"Alright, let's do this." said Anko and she calmed her breathing and started meditating to reach her mind-scape.

x-x

Forest of Death

x-x

'Everything went to hell from the start!' thought Naruto as he lay panting against the trunk of an incredibly large and impressive tree. It hadn't been that long since he entered the forest and already he was having trouble staying alive.

Apparently Shakky's map was wrong, (AN: The map is actually right, Naruto just read it wrong) and instead of ending up in a safer area of the forest, he ended up in the middle of the warthogs territory. After being chased for thirty minutes on the ground by three giant warthogs, Naruto found that he was safe in the trees from them.

Upon this discovery, he laughed and taunted the warthogs. They weren't happy with it but there was nothing they could do. Getting tired of making fun of the warthogs, Naruto decided to get going and make his way to somewhere safer. He jumped to the next tree only to find himself stuck in mid-air. Looking around Naruto couldn't figure out what had happened until he moved his head and what little light there was reflected on a large intricate spider web.

Straining his head and body against the sticky web Naruto saw something that he wished he hadn't. A giant, hairy, eight-legged spider was slowly heading his way. Stretching as much as he could, Naruto found that he couldn't reach the tanto or his ninja pouches but he could reach his shuriken pouch. Removing a shuriken, Naruto had desperately channeled chakra to it and sharpened it as best as he could to cut the web. As he cut his way free, the spider moved every closer and the only thing that he could hear was the laughter of those damn warthogs at the situation that he had gotten himself into.

'Stupid warthogs, it was all their fault.' thought Naruto as he reminisced about what had happened not too long ago.

A loud 'thump' sound brought his thoughts back to reality and Naruto looked in front of him to where the noise came. A large slug or something was sitting about two feet away on the branch he was sitting on. It wasn't there moments before but It looked harmless enough. The slug looked towards him with what Naruto thought was the head as it had no eyes, ears, or nose. Lifting its head towards him exposed its mouth underneath. It was a mouth filled with numerous rows of razor sharp teach and then it hissed.

Naruto had a predictable reaction, he gave a shrill scream and then kicked the slug off the branch. Watching the slug fall to the forest down below Naruto calmed himself and looked up. Possibly it was just a reflex as he liked to look up towards the sky quite often. Instead of seeing the sky, he saw more canopy and five falling objects that were headed right towards him. He didn't need any time to identify them as he could tell that they were the same slugs that he just kicked off the branch.

Sighing, Naruto reached for his tanto and thought, 'at least those warthogs aren't here to laugh at my misfortune gain.'

(AN: Those are actually the same leeches that team eight used to get the scroll they needed in the chunin exams)

x-x

"So this is my mind?" questioned Anko as both her and Rayleigh stood in a very nightmarish version of Konoha. The buildings were dark and twisted while the sky had dark black clouds with bolts lightning every few moments.

"Yes, it is but you shouldn't worry about it, each person has a different mind-scape that is a reflection of themselves. How they feel, how they are treated by others, and there own experiences shape a person's mind-scape." stated Rayleigh.

"I guess I should be thankful that it isn't a sewer. So what do we do now?" asked Anko.

"First you need a shirt." said Rayleigh as he noticed that Anko was still wearing just her bra. "Here I think I have one.." stated Rayleigh as he reached into his cloak and fished around. "Will a purple t-shirt do?" asked Rayleigh still searching his cloak. "Uhh...sure it would. You keep a purple t-shirt that would fit me inside your cloak?" asked Anko giving Rayleigh a strange look . Rayleigh merely smiled and removed a purple t-shirt and gave it to Anko.

"I think I have some ninja supplies in here as well and I will need my sword, is that alright?" asked Rayleigh while using his hands to look through his cloak again and looking at Anko for an answer.

Anko was staring back but she was curious as to what would happen so she said, "Yeah sure, if you got weapons in there that we could use, bring'em out."

Rayleigh smiled again and produced a ninja pouch, a shuriken holster, and then pulled out a white full length katana. Anko stared at him in shock before she managed to speak, "HOW THE HELL! What kinda magic cloak is that!"

Anko then proceeded to inspect Rayleigh's cloak as best as she could but found nothing. No seals, no special pockets, it was just a off-white cloak with a green lining. 'There's no way he managed to hide those things in there, especially a katana, without me noticing a bulge.'

Anko stopped looking at the cloak and focused on Rayleigh's amused face, "Alright, what's going on?"

"My dear this is your mind-scape. With years of practice and training you could probably be able to manifest these objects. I simply took a shortcut. I tricked you into believing that I had those things in my cloak. I also tricked you into thinking that I found them and when I pretended to pull them out, you manifested them into your mind-scape because you wanted them and believed that I had them." lecture Rayleigh and Anko was trying to pick her jaw up off the floor.

"What about the sword, I've never seen that before?" inquired a curious Anko.

"Ah yes that was a little more tricky because you have never seen me with a sword your imagination just filled in the blanks." said Rayleigh with a smile. Anko for her part was still trying to wrap her mind around how that was possible but decided to just let it go.

"What are we looking for exactly?" inquired Anko and Rayleigh responded, "A physical representation of the seal and I believe that it will be another person walking around this mind-scape and trying to find you."

"Why would it be trying to find me?" asked Anko.

"When I removed Sarutobi-san's seal, the cursed seal would use the opportunity to try and corrupt you since its restrictions have been removed. Because we're in your mind-scape, it will therefore seek you out and try to influence you. I placed my seal to make sure that the cursed seal wouldn't be able to activate." replied Rayleigh.

Anko grimaced at the answer. She still couldn't believe that a sentient portion of her former sensei's chakra was placed in her. It almost made her want to gouge the cursed seal off her shoulder with a kunai.

They continued walking through the nightmarish village until they stopped in the park. Anko was about to ask why they were stopping here when she felt something behind her. Slowly turning around, Anko saw a child was about twenty feet away from them. Her eyes widened when she realized that the child was her, just several years younger. The little girl was looking at them curiously.

"Why did you bring someone here, you know you can't trust anyone, they'll only use you and then throw you away." said the little girl and Anko gasped. "He's just like the villagers. Don't let yourself be hurt again." continued younger Anko.

Anko was having a hard time dealing with what the younger version of herself was saying. She did trust Rayleigh but it was hard not to go back to her former way of thinking about everyone around her. Anko didn't even notice that the sky was getting worse or that she could hear voices trying to influence her. She jumped when a hand firmly grabbed her shoulder.

Looking over, she saw that Rayleigh was looking at her with concern and wondered why until he said, "Don't let it get to you. This is the same influence that you've fought for so many years. You shouldn't let your eyes fool you."

Anko wondered what he was talking about so she looked back at her younger self, who was still talking and trying to get to her. Ignoring the words entirely, she saw something that she hadn't before. The young girl didn't have Anko's light brown eyes, instead she had a pair of slit yellow eyes with purple markings around the eyes. Anko instantly recognized these markings and those eyes. If Rayleigh didn't have his hand on her shoulder than she would have charged at the girl with her kunai drawn.

"Kukukukuku...I guess you've seen through my disguise." stated the young purple haired girl in a voice that was all too familiar to Anko, that of her former sensei Orochimaru. Again Anko was kept from charging at the little girl who then seemed to morph into the visage of Orochimaru. By no means was it the real Orochimaru and on some level Anko knew that but she really didn't care or stop to think about it.

"I didn't think that you would bring someone else here. Especially not some old man whose far past his prime. You should know by now Anko that you just aren't strong enough to face me and you didn't have the lust for power or vengeance to stand by my side. That's why I discarded you. Even now, you still refuse to use the gift that I gave you." said Orochimaru in an amused and mocking voice.

Anko was still trying to get away from Rayleigh's grip and she turned to glare at the man only to find him focusing on Orochimaru with such intensity that it actually scared her. Anko She also noticed that he seemed to be radiating killer intent and an oppressive aura that was rather impressive for someone his age.

"I'm afraid that you'll be disappointed today. Anko won't be fighting you, I will." stated Rayleigh in a serious voice. Anko was rather shocked at this declaration.

"Kukukuku...and what will an old man like you be able to do against me, hmmm" said Orochimaru in a very amused voice.

"I suppose my body is rather past its prime. It's seen many battles and been injured countless times. My knees are bad, my back aches, my stamina is all but gone, and all those old wounds have taken their toll." at these statements, Orochimaru's smirk only got bigger but Rayleigh continued, "However, my mind is still very sharp."

At this statement, Orochimaru's smirk lessened slightly as he wasn't sure where the old man was going with this train of thought, "And that will make some kind of difference? Kukukukuku."

"I think you'll find it will make all the difference in the world. Especially considering that this isn't my body." replied Rayleigh and his serious expression now had the hint of a smile to it.

Orochimaru now had a frown on his face as he didn't understand what the old man was getting at. Rayleigh decided to explain it to the Snake Sennin, "We are in a mind-scape and this body is just a physical representation of my body on the outside used to represent my consciousness. What you don't understand is that this body isn't like my body on the outside, it doesn't have knee or back problems and I can move easily as if I was decades younger. The reason behind this is because while my body may have started degrading, my mind is still very sharp. Of course, you also aren't the real Orochimaru and are only a fraction of his power. Now, lets end the talking and get to the fight. I've been waiting two weeks for this moment and I'm really going to enjoy this fight."

With that said, a smiling Rayleigh sprung into action with speed he had not been able to use for years and Anko was left to watch.

x-x

Sitting up in the highest canopy of a tree, Naruto looked at the sun as it was starting to set. He was finishing up some cooked fish that he caught after he made it to one of the two rivers that flowed through the forest. It was nice to finally sit and not have to worry about something attacking him. He had quickly learned that the highest canopy of the tree had the least amount of dangerous creatures and he had already checked the area that he was in.

It took a while, but his heart had finally stopped trying to pound its way out of his chest. The whole day had been one debacle after the other and he still had doubts that he could last nine more days here. His plan was to stay by the river so he had food and fresh water and not journey to far away from the tree he was in. The only thing that he had to worry about now was night. Despite most of the forest being in partial or nearly complete darkness because of the size of the tree, when night arrived, the more dangerous animals would come out to hunt and Naruto didn't want to be on the menu.

After finishing his food, Naruto stood up on the branch and decided to use the jutsu that Shakky had given him. He realized that it would be perfect to use in order to keep himself safe at night from the many predators of the forest. Moving through a set of ten hand-signs and said out loud, "Leech all creation: attack prevention technique." While concentrating, Naruto walked forward and literally merged or melded into the trunk of the tree he was on. As more of his body entered the tree, he took on the properties of the tree. The technique was used to enter other objects in order to escape attack or to hide and prevent from being attacked.

With practice, Shakky told Naruto that he could use the jutsu to actually travel through solid objects and not just to hide or escape. The jutsu was highly ranked for its chakra consumption but wasn't an elemental jutsu so it didn't require nature chakra and was a jutsu that fit Naruto perfectly. While his chakra reserves weren't that large yet, they replenished themselves rather rapidly and after training with the jutsu, they found that Naruto could use it for several hours if he remained still. Using the jutsu as a means of movement used far more chakra than while motionless.

As Naruto moved into the center of the tree trunk, he couldn't help but think that this was the coolest jutsu that he had ever learned. It was rather peaceful to be inside the tree. As he was now a part of the tree, he could feel what was happening inside the tree. The sun was still out and photosynthesis was still occurring. The tree was also taking in water and nutrients through its incredibly deep roots. For the first time that day Naruto was able to finally relax and let his thoughts wander. 'Maybe I should merge with a tree more often, this feels really relaxing.' thought Naruto as he drifted to sleep.

About fifty feet away on an adjacent tree, Shakky was watching Naruto from her own branch as the young boy merged with the tree trunk. Since Rayleigh was busy and was getting to old to follow Naruto through the forest, Shakky decided to watch him on the first day and make sure that nothing managed to eat him. 'So far everything is going smoothly.' thought Shakky as she exhaled a puff of smoke from her cigarette. She still couldn't believe that Naruto was able to use that jutsu the way that he did. Of the few people who did know and use the leech of all creation technique, they all still needed to breath when emerged in an object.

Naruto had shown this trend too except when he merged with one of the trees in the Uzumaki estate. After merging with the tree, Naruto found that he didn't need to worry about breathing like he did when merging with the ground and the walls around the house. Shakky wasn't able to find an explanation for this as when she merged with the tree she still needed to either leave her head exposed or move out the tree in order to breath and not suffocate. While the person merged with a solid and took on its properties, they just couldn't stop needed to take in oxygen into the body. The same went with food and water but most people didn't stay merged with a solid long enough to start needing sustenance.

Naruto and his ability to merge with a tree with the need of oxygen was an anomaly that Shakky couldn't explain which was similar to his henge being a real physical transformation. She supposed that their may be some connection but whatever it was, she couldn't see it. Rayleigh was of the same opinion and couldn't explain the phenomenon either. Both adults had developed different theories but nothing definitive. 'I suppose Naruto-chan is just unique in his own way and has a way of surprising you when you least expect it.' thought Shakky as she took one last look at the tree Naruto was in and left the Forest of Death.

x-x

Orochimaru grunted as he got up from the rubble that he was laying in. This manifestation of a body that he was using was beaten and getting tired. No matter what he did and no matter what tricks he used, that old man always saw it coming. Orochimaru had given up trying to match the man in taijutsu as Rayleigh weaved through every attack and delivered blows with incredible force, as evident by the fact that Orochimaru was getting up from the rubble of a building he had been kicked through.

Kenjutsu was also something that he tried but he had been disarmed and nearly lost several appendages in the sword fight. If it wasn't for his quick replacements with earth clones then he would have already died. It seemed as though he was facing someone with a Sharingan by the fact that all of his attacks had been seen through but that wasn't the case. The old man was far from invincible though and Orochimaru had almost managed to deal blows to him, if it wasn't for Anko backing him up with projectiles and fire jutsu from a distance.

He couldn't use most of his ninjutsu because Rayleigh had cut off three of his fingers after he tried to use ninjutsu to injure Anko. He had the urge to run away but seeing as he was in a mind-scape, there was nowhere to run to. Orochimaru was trapped and being hunted by an old man and his former apprentice.

Coming out of the hole in the wall that he had made on entry. Orochimaru looked to his right and found both objects of his ire waiting for him. He realized that the only way to win was to get at Anko and force the old man to back off. If need be he would have to kill the host as he wouldn't be killed by either of the two standing before him.

Rayleigh charged forward with his sword drawn and Orochimaru noted that he was getting slower. Quickly taking advantage of this, his legs melded together into one large slithering tail and he nimble dodged to one side and charged straight at Anko. He would try and take her hostage first and only kill her as a last resort. Moving in on the surprised girl he noted that Rayleigh wouldn't be able to stop him in time and could only smile in triumph.

Orochimaru tried to move in behind the girl but in the moment he went to grab her, Anko moved with speed he knew she didn't possess and rammed a kunai into his stomach. The kunai pierced through his abdomen and damaged his spine. Shocked Orochimaru looked at his former apprentice but noted that something seemed off. A puff of smoke later revealed the form of a smiling Rayleigh.

Sneering, Orochimaru tried to strangle the old man but Rayleigh let go of the kunai and grabbed both of his arms and held them with surprising strength. Rayleigh kicked out into Orochimaru's chest and left his foot pushing against the snake sennin while he pulled the man's arms forward, nearly wrenching them out of the sockets.

Orochimaru nearly laughed at such a feeble attempt to harm him as he prepared to counter attack. He was unable to substitute himself with anything but he was planning to stretch his neck out and bite the old man. His laughter died in his throat however as he realized that he had forgotten about Anko. She had been transformed into Rayleigh and was still wielding the sword. Before Orochimaru was able to turn his head, Anko swung the sword from behind him and lopped his head off.

x-x

Back in reality, still in the sealing room

x-x

Anko opened her eyes and gasped. She looked around frantically and tried to determine what had happened. Rayleigh was sitting in front of her, still holding her hands and the Sandaime was standing near the wall of the room. Anko grabbed her shoulder in pain and looked to the cursed seal. It seemed to be glowing and then a foul purple chakra started emitting from the seal and into the air. The area in and around the seal burned as the foul chakra was let off and it took nearly a minute for it all to leave.

After it was over, Anko looked back to her shoulder. The cursed seal was fading and then it was gone. 'It's gone.' she kept repeating that over in her head as she looked at her shoulder. All that was left was the containment seal that Rayleigh had placed.

She looked across from her at Rayleigh. He was smiling and looked rather winded. Anko smiled and tackled him with a hug. Rayleigh's response was a grunt of pain as Anko said incoherent words of thanks while hugging him. The Sandaime smiled at the scene from where he was standing in the sealing room smoking his pipe. He had been there just in case something happened but it looked like he wasn't needed.

x-x

Forest of Death, five days later

x-x

Naruto had developed a routine of sorts while staying the forest. He would always use his leech all creations technique to hide inside a tree at night to avoid being attacked or eaten in his sleep. In the mornings he would go down to the river and get some fish. He usually did a little exploring in the area around the tree that he was in that day as he switched trees or he couldn't find the tree that he was in the night before and chose a new one. He did some hunting but he really didn't want to attract any animals to a fresh kill. Getting bored was incredibly easy for him so Naruto had started fashioning some extra tools to use and did a little bit of training. He already made a spear and a net.

At present, Naruto was following his morning routine and was about to wash and catch some fish when he stopped at the river and looked to the other side of the bank. Interestingly enough, the other side of the bank stopped drinking from the river and looked back at him. There was a moment of pause before Naruto's mind realized exactly what he was looking at and his body made the appropriate response, which was to run like hell.

It was understandable for his pause though as it wasn't everyday you see a bear that was twice the size of your house. The bear also had a pause before it recognized Naruto as breakfast and roared before it's hulking form charged across the river and gave chase.

Naruto ran as fast as he could through brush and in and out of gigantic roots as a giant bear chased after him causing devastation in its wake. 'Must run faster or bear will eat me!' were the only thoughts running through his head as he jumped over large roots.

As the bear closed in and destroyed the roots he was jumping off of mere seconds after he jumped Naruto decided to go for higher ground and climb a nearby tree. Jumping onto the trunk, he ran up the tree while running around the trunk the help throw off the bear. Once he determined that he was high enough, he stopped running and looked down. "SHIT!" he cursed as he realized something that he didn't know before. Apparently bears could climb trees. Well, to be more accurate, _giant bears_ could climb _giant trees_.

Running farther up the tree, Naruto was barely able to escape the wild swings of the bears claws as it roared and snarled in frustration. Deciding that climbing any further up the tree was a lost cause, he ran out on a branch and gained speed to jump to the branch of a nearby tree. Naruto realized when he jumped that not only had the bear followed him along the branch but it had a great reach with its claws.

Before Naruto was midway through the jump, the claws of the bears paw pierces into his back and out through his chest. The bear retracted its paw with the skewered person and ate its meal on the branch it was sitting on. However the first bite didn't agree with the bear at all and it spit outs its meal, which turned out to be a lot of crushed wood.

Sitting on another branch, on a tree not to far away, Naruto watched the bear spit out his log substitution and begin searching for him. It gave up rather quickly and started climbing back down the tree. 'Thank the log, I'm safe.' he thought as he inhaled but coughed on the exhale. Naruto noticed a bad taste in his mouth that he recognized as blood

Looking down at his sweatshirt he noticed two small stains on the front. He touched one and his finger came back with blood on it. Now worried, Naruto tried to twist himself to get some look at his back but all he received from his efforts incredible pain lancing through his back. Reaching back his hand he touched a large warm and wet spot. When he pulled his hand back, it was covered with blood. Naruto was starting to go into shock at this point and his eyes were wide with realization.

'I guess my timing with the substitution was a little late.' Naruto thought with a feeling of dread.

Please Review


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

x-x

AN: I understand that the story might be going rather slow for some of you but I really can't just can't have a large time-skip right now. I think that by chapter sixteen the story will be where canon starts. I really can't make it happen any sooner than that as I already have a basic plan for the chapters leading up to that. I do have many things happening until then so I hope no one will get bored. I hope all you keep reading and enjoy. Thank you for your reviews

AN: I'm also taking down the poll because Shuusui, Zoro's third sword from Samurai Ryuuma, is the clear winner.

**AN: I need some help trying to name one of Naruto's other future swords. I wanted something to do with whirlpools or just water in general but I am having trouble coming up with a name, so I'm open to any suggestions. If I get many suggestions, I might have another poll to decide which everyone wants. Thank you.**

Chapter IX: Nothing ever goes how you want it to

AN: **Continuation of last chapter, Naruto is still five and a half years old**

Naruto's mind was now thinking a mile a minute. 'Am I dieing? How injured am I? How long do I have? How do I get help? What can I do?' were some of the many questions running through his head. The pain was now constant and it was the most pain he had ever been in. He could only pray that no vital organs had been hit as well. Naruto was about to reach for the first aid scroll that he had with him when he realized something that gave him sinking feeling in his stomach. 'I can't properly treat the wounds on my back because I can't reach or see them.' he thought. He knew from the amount of blood that the wounds on his back were far worse than those on his front and if he didn't do something he might bleed out.

This was a difficult problem for him and he really didn't have an answer. He kept searching for something, anything that he could use. His mind eventually turned to the last time he had a problem like this. It was when Rayleigh pushed him into the gorge, he had been faced with a decision as to what to do and he decided to climb it. 'At the time, I thought it was the right thing to do but Rayleigh had a better solution, one that I didn't think of. It was my Henge!' he thought and realized that he might have the answer. His henge was a real physical transformation so, 'If I transform into myself but covered with the proper bandages over my back and front, then it should help.' he realized.

Concentrating on what he wanted to do and forming the ram hand-seal, Naruto used the transformation jutsu. After the smoke had lifted he inspected his front and found that he was completely bandaged underneath the sweatshirt. He also noticed that he could move easier than before and he was in less pain.

'That's odd, why would I be in less pain?' but Naruto wasn't one to question good fortune and he didn't want to start moving around and possibly injure himself even more. He formed a sequence of hand-seals and said, "Leach all creation: attack prevention technique."

As he let himself meld into the branch of the tree he tried not to move his back. This wasn't the first time he had done this but he always marveled at the feeling of being connected with a tree. It was like being enveloped in cool water and it gave him a sense of peace and relaxation. His pain diminished again and his worries melted away as he let his natural healing do what it was supposed to do. Naruto found himself slipping in and out of consciousness but he wasn't really bothered by it. For some reason he had the feeling that he was going to be fine and enjoyed what he was feeling by being part of the tree.

x-x

Hokage's Office

x-x

The Sandaime was trudging through his paperwork when he came upon the papers that he had been waiting for all week. It was an application for Naruto to enter the academy. Normally applications were filed with the academy and approved by the headmaster but Naruto was a special case. The Sandaime had to approve of Naruto's application personally and then file it away with the boy's other files, which he kept in his personal safe. Then the Sandaime had to fill out some forms to send to the academy and notify them that Naruto was attending. It was extra paperwork but for the first time in a long time he didn't mind.

'I just hope that he's able to fit in and find some friends in the academy. From what Rayleigh and Shakky have been telling me, he hasn't had any luck and has almost given up which really doesn't sound like the Naruto that I know.' thought the Sandaime sadly. Naruto had said that he was going to wait on making friends because he couldn't find any. It was sad but it was also true.

Looking at the class list of students he noticed that nearly every clan in Konoha was represented and all of the children were sons or daughters of the clan heads. 'What an odd coincidence. It's as if they all got together and decided when to have children, so they would be in the same year.' thought the Sandaime with a contemplative expression. 'Hopefully at least one of those children will be friends with Naruto.'

x-x

Training Ground Forty-three

x-x

"So you have the entire training ground to yourself for over a year?" Anko questioned with some interest. It wasn't that often that an entire training ground was reserved for someone. Rayleigh was using what appeared to be an abandoned quarry area to set up for training Naruto.

"Not the entire time but most of it. No one really uses this training ground anyway and it makes for a perfect place to train my adopted grandson." said Rayleigh. He had yet to tell Anko that he was raising and training Uzumaki Naruto as he wasn't completely sure how she would react and it was labeled as an S-rank secret.

"So when do I get to meet this grandson of yours." Anko asked as she was curious about him. "He's over halfway through his training session right now, so I suppose a couple of days if you really want to meet him." said Rayleigh as if it was no big deal.

"Where's he training?" asked Anko who was now even more curious.

Rayleigh's response was simply, "The Forest of Death."

As Rayleigh continued to work, Anko had dropped everything that she was doing and was starring at Rayleigh with her mouth open in shock. 'He made his grandson go into the Forest of Death.'

Anko reaction was understandable, "HAVE YOU GONE SENILE? YOU SENT A CHILD INTO THE FOREST OF DEATH BY HIMSELF?"

"Anko your really making this situation into more than it really is." Rayleigh calmly tried to reason with the now irate Anko.

"I'M OVERREACTING? YOU SENT YOUR OWN GRANDSON TO DIE!" screamed Anko as she was about to make a dash to the nearby training ground forty-four.

Rayleigh stopped her from going and said, "He won't die. I'll acknowledge the possibility that he could die but I know that he won't."

Anko settled down slightly but she was still angry and glaring at Rayleigh, "Why did you send your grandson into that training ground? Even jonin are hesitant to go there! How can you be so sure he won't die in there?"

"Its more complicated than any single answer that I can give you. The training that I am going to give him is rather harsh and would break a lesser person. I need to make sure that he can handle it. My grandson also learns differently than most. He's a kinesthetic learner which means that he should learn infinitely more from doing something than he will from a lecture or perhaps a book. He does read and gain knowledge from books but only those interest him, which are a select few. Many of my lectures however just go in one ear and out the other.

I won't be with him for much longer and I'd like to know that he can survive without me. The Forest of Death is a very harsh place and will test him more thoroughly than any other training that I could come up with. If you want to get stronger, and I mean really get stronger in this world, than you have to push forward and keep pushing forward. He knows that lesson rather well. As for how I know that he won't die. Well, I've spent several years training him. Also, and you might laugh at this, there's just something about him that tells me that he will try to survive no matter what the world throws at him." said Rayleigh in a sad but proud voice.

Anko stared at Rayleigh for a while before she spoke, "So you 'pushed him forward' into the Forest of Death? How can you be so calm about this?"

"You shouldn't worry so much, I have faith in him. Naruto will be just fine." said Rayleigh and he gauged Anko's reaction to the name. This was actually the first time he had said Naruto's name in any of the conversations they had.

Anko's slowly made the realization and her eyes widened when she heard the name. Naruto wasn't a very common name anywhere and in Konoha it was only synonymous with one person and that was the Kyuubi container. She looked at Rayleigh to see that he was smiling.

"Yes, my adopted grandson is the child you were thinking about. Just remember, its is an S-ranked secret that someone is taking care of him and if you tell anyone, well..." and Rayleigh left the end of his sentence open to interpretation.

Anko gulped. S-ranked secrets were not something that she wanted anything to do with. She did however have one question for Rayleigh, "Why are you taking care of him?"

"Because I knew both of his parents. His mother and I were once part of the same village and clan. There are really only a handful of people from our clan left. I have a lot of knowledge to pass on to him so that our clan doesn't just die out or is completely forgotten. Unfortunately I have little time to pass on that knowledge." said Rayleigh sadly.

"What's he like?" asked Anko curiously. She had overheard many things from loose-lipped villagers and wondered if any of the things they said about him were true.

"I suppose he's like just about every other five year old boy. Only more ostracized and lonely. With a burden that nearly everyone in the village hates him for which in no way is his fault." replied Rayleigh in an even sadder tone than before.

x-x

Forest of Death, one days later

x-x

Naruto had emerged from the tree and found that he was completely healed. He could feel what he believed were scars on his back which was odd because he had never scarred before. He wasn't sure exactly how it had happened because Naruto had never been that injured before but he was going to ask Shakky or Rayleigh about it when all this was over. Most of his injuries just healed and left no scar or discoloration behind.

(AN: When Naruto used his henge to cover his body with bandages, what he was actually doing was filling the wounded area with his transformation to make it seem like the wound never happened. If he had uncovered the bandaged areas he would have seen smooth, unblemished skin. The wounds were still there but the henge filled in the damaged areas which meant that Naruto could move around better and it hurt less. His body was actually being tricked into believing that there was no longer a wound. The wound which was covered by the henge also healed like his healing abilities normally do but left scars on the surface of his skin. Its sort of a downside to using that ability of his henge. Naruto will be able to cover up grievous wounds with a transformation that makes it appear as if the wounds are gone but they are still present, slowly healing underneath the henge, and will leave a scar on the surface of the skin after they heal. While using this ability, Naruto will still feel muted pain and have limited mobility. If the henge is somehow dispelled, then the henge will fail and the wound will be as it was before. The henge can be dispelled with a hit or further injury, just like what shadow clones can be dispelled with. So it is an excellent technique as long as it stays up and doesn't get dispelled.)

Currently he was sitting in the river with only his head above water letting the cool water wash over him and hopefully reduce his swelling. About an hour ago he had stumbled across a wasp hive. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were normal wasps. The wasps in this forest were nearly as long as his forearm with a giant stinger that was nearly as thick as a senbon while being less than a quarter of the length.

Naruto shivered at the memories of getting stung. He hated needles and a wasp that practically had a large needle attached to it was something he wished didn't exist. Unfortunately they did exist and he had the swelling from the stings to prove it. He had only been stung around four times but they hurt and burned nearly as much as getting stabbed by the bear. The areas around the sting were swollen to almost grotesque sizes.

'Those techniques Ray-sensei is going to teach me had better be worth this.' thought Naruto while cursing his sensei and the pain he was in.

Naruto decided that it was about time to get out of the river and waded to shore. He first made sure that no bears were present. Since the swelling had only reduced slightly he wondered if he should bandage his wounds. He really didn't want to bother trying to bandage the areas because they were so swollen and it would take a long time. An idea popped into his head of what happened the last time he wanted to bandage his wounds. He had used his henge to bandage himself from the bear wounds.

Making the ram hand-seal, he transformed into himself with bandaged wrapped over the areas that were stung. Looking over his transformation work he was surprised to see that the swelling was gone and the discomfort from the stings had been reduced. Looking to his forearm, which was one of the areas that he was stung, Naruto started to remove the bandages there to see what was going on.

Once the bandages were removed he was surprised to see nothing but smooth, unblemished skin. Curious, he touched the area and winced slightly as it still hurt to touch the area but there still appeared to be no wound. 'That's really weird. The swelling is gone and the pain reduced but I can still feel it when I touch the area or move around.' thought a confused Naruto.

Even more curious now, Naruto dispelled the henge and felt the throbbing of his wounds come back full force. The area on his forearm was swollen again but it looked less swollen than it had been. Now Naruto may not have been exceedingly bright by anyone's standards but even he could understand the basics of what was happening. Even if he didn't know why or how it was happening. 'So my henge covers up my wounds and may even heal them faster. The pain and discomfort reduce and its hard to tell that I have been injured. Cool! My henge really is awesome!' thought Naruto excitedly as he put back up another transformation of himself to cover the wasp stings and hopefully help them heal faster.

x-x

Forest of Death, ninth day

x-x

Naruto removed his mask and once again vomited onto the ground. He had been exploring some of the forest and brushed up against a plant that he didn't recognize. The plant had many thorns and it was only a simple scratched but apparently a simple scratch in the Forest of Death meant being subjected to a poison or toxin of some kind. The skin around the scratch was discolored and it appeared to be secreting a liquid.

'Great, that doesn't look good at all.' he thought.

Naruto found a place that offered some protection in the roots of the large trees. He did his best to cover and clean the area of the wound but there was little else he could do. His head was pounding and he was positive he had a fever. His mind began to wander and he found himself thinking about his current situation. How had he gotten in this mess? What was he doing in this damn forest?

The answers to these questions were inevitably the same. Ray-sensei had bribed him with jutsu to go into this mess. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened and considering how much Naruto wanted cool jutsu, it probably wouldn't be the last.

Despite having so many bad experiences, Naruto found it difficult to actually hate Rayleigh for any of it. The man raised and taught him, along with Shakky, when seemingly no one else would even lift a finger to help him. Naruto wasn't an idiot, although there were times when his common sense was on vacation or he needed a great of deal of explanation in order to grasp something that was probably simple to grasp for others. He knew that if Rayleigh and Shakky didn't take care of him, then no one would have. He just couldn't express how grateful he was for that.

Naruto knew who his father was even if he hadn't been explicitly told that his father was the Yondaime. It was hard not to make the connection when you grew up with pictures of the man on the walls of his house and his giant head was on a mountain that showed off the village Hokage's for miles.

Naruto knew he had to keep things secret. Rayleigh and Shakky had been explicit about several things. They were things that the Sandaime just didn't feel he was ready for or perhaps would ever be ready to know but Rayleigh and Shakky had decided to tell him anyway. He couldn't tell anyone that he was the son of the Yondaime or let the Hokage know that he knew about his father. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone about the Uzumaki clan or let anyone know about his status as the clan head. The Sandaime knew and that was enough for now. People just wouldn't be ready to accept something like that, especially considering how they feel about him and it was best kept secret. Naruto also wasn't supposed to let the Sandaime know how much he knew about the Kyuubi and the sealing.

Through all that, Shakky and Rayleigh had always been there for him. They had always been honest with him and told him everything. However, something had been bugging him in the back of his mind for quite a while.

He wasn't sure what it was but it had to do with Rayleigh. Naruto had an excellent memory but even with a perfect memory, you still had to make connections with the things that you've seen in order to grasp the full picture of what was going on. He had the feeling that it was important, but perhaps it was just his delirium from the toxin flowing through him or whatever that plant had done to him.

Naruto rested his head against the roots of his hiding place and let himself drift in and out of consciousness. It was probably a bad idea to drift asleep while poisoned but Naruto was too tired to care.

x-x

Forest of Death, morning after the last day

x-x

"DAMN TIGERS!" Naruto yelled as he dodged a swipe from a giant tiger. He was standing on a rock outcropping or large boulder in the middle of a field of similar rock outcroppings. Apparently he had read the map wrong again and had tried to leave the Forest of Death through the territory of the tigers. Now he was surrounded by tigers on the ground that were trying to get at him.

A tiger again tried to jump onto the outcropping of rock Naruto was on. It didn't make it all the way up and was trying to get a grip on the rock surface with its claws gouged the rock to pull itself the rest of the way up. Naruto quickly kicked it in the nose causing it to lose its grip fall back to the ground. It roared and collided with a few more tigers that were circling around.

Getting a running start, Naruto jumped for the next boulder. Several tigers lunged up in the air and tried to swipe at him with their claws but he managed to make it to the next boulder unscathed. "I really should have just followed the river out of the forest instead of trying for the quickest way out." Naruto said out loud to himself. This wasn't exactly the time to look back on things that he should have done as the tigers were regrouping around the boulder he was now on. Some were fighting amongst themselves while others were circling around the boulder looking for the best side to jump up. Naruto was very lucky that the rocks in this area were just high enough that the tigers couldn't get up onto them with a single leap.

The could still get up onto them but they had to get a good grip on the rock and pull themselves up. It had rained in the early morning and the boulders were still wet which proved more difficult to get a solid grip with their claws. Looking ahead, Naruto saw more trees. According to the map, just beyond that line of trees was the chain-link fence that surrounded the forest.

"Oh, Shit!" he cursed out loud.

Apparently the tigers figured out where he was going and sent a few of their group ahead to start climbing up the rocks in front of Naruto. Quickly looking around, Naruto saw that he really didn't have another way. There were other boulders to jump to but they were shorter then the one he was on and the tigers wouldn't have a problems jumping onto them.

Naruto was about to make a decision as to which way to head when he remembered something. 'I can really be so stupid sometimes.' He thought while shaking his head. "HAHA, SEE YOU AROUND STUPID TIGERS!" yelled Naruto and with a single hand-seal and a poof of smoke, Naruto was now transformed into a bird and flew in the direction of the fence. They glared and roared at the crow as it flew away. Even the sounds of the bird cawing as it flew away seemed to mock them. The tigers were angry that there food had gotten away and had memorized his scent. If he ever came back into the forest, they would be sure to finish what they started.

x-x

Shakky made her way to the Forest of Death to pick up Naruto from his 'little vacation'. She had made regular trips to the forest in order to keep tabs on him and made sure he didn't die from poisoning on more than one occasion. She had introduced Naruto to small quantities of various poisons for several years now in order to build up his immunity. Of course the Forest of Death held more in it than the generic poisons that she had used.

Shakky began focusing on sensing the boys tracking seal in order to figure out where he was. she trusted Rayleigh's judgment and she knew that with the scrolls and that jutsu that she gave him that he would survive. Naruto wasn't just going to get eaten that easily and both her and Rayleigh had trained him rather well. She was slightly surprised to find that Naruto was actually in the air and heading towards her. 'I guess he knows not to keep me waiting, fufufufu.' she thought as she watched a crow go into a dive in her direction. The crow swooped low to the ground and exploded in a poof of smoke. Naruto emerged from the smoke while running towards Shakky. He tripped and tumbled once but managed to keep his pace.

She heard a loud cry of "FREEDOM! SWEET FREEDOM!" and "SHAKKY-BACHAN" before the running boy lunged at her for a hug. Shakky sidestepped the lunge but grabbed Naruto out of midair and pulled him into a hug. She was getting too old to be tackled full force by the growing boy, he wasn't as small and light as he used to be and his tackling-hugs backed quite a punch.

Once the hug was over, she set Naruto down and looked him over. The clothes that he was wearing were pretty much trashed. The sweatshirt had several holes in the back and what looked like a large amount of dried blood. 'I wondered how that happened?' she thought idly as she looked towards his pants, or what was left of his pants. For the most part they were shredded by what looked like claw marks. She guessed that the t-shirt he was wearing underneath the sweatshirt was in a similar condition.

"Fufufufu...it looks like you've been through quite the adventure Naruto-chan. Your not injured are you?" she asked with concern.

"No, I'm fine." replied Naruto as he scratched the back of his head with one hand and Shakky raised an eyebrow at that. The state of his clothes suggested that he was seriously injured at least at some point during his stay in the forest. Naruto sniffled and said, "Thanks Ba-chan for those scrolls that you made for me and that technique you taught me. I probably would have died without them." He gave Shakky's legs a fierce hug and she ruffled his hair.

"I guess your finally starting to appreciate how valuable information and being prepared can be, Naruto-chan?" she asked Naruto while he hugged her legs. Naruto responded by nodding while hugging her.

"Well Ray-san said that you could have two days off until he starts teaching you those techniques that he promised. On the way back to the village you can tell me all about your adventure in the Forest of Death and we'll stop and get some Ramen." and with that they walked hand in hand back to the village as Naruto told Shakky everything that happened to him in the forest.

x-x

Training Ground Forty-three

x-x

"Do I have to meet her?" asked Naruto as he and his sensei walked to the training area that Rayleigh had set up.

Rayleigh sighed at the question and said, "No I don't suppose you have to meet her but I'd like you to meet her. You don't have many friends and I do know that it isn't from lack of trying on your part."

"So she's the chick from the dango place? The one you keep meeting with on Wednesdays while I'm out of the house?" inquired Naruto with a smile behind his mask. He hadn't forgotten about his observations about Rayleigh's doings while he was on his scheduled break from training.

Rayleigh gave a wry smile and said, "As a matter of fact she it. Her name is Mitarashi Anko and she isn't that much older than you."

"Does Ba-chan know your seeing a much younger woman?" asked Naruto seriously and with some concern.

Rayleigh laughed and answered, "I'm not dating her Naruto-kun. Nor am I 'seeing her' in any form other than for conversation and because she needed my help with something." Naruto let out a quick breath of relief and left Rayleigh shaking his head at his young student, 'Where does he get these ideas?'

They passed an open area of the training ground and proceeded back into the woods. Naruto noticed that they seemed to be traveling downhill while going through the trees. Eventually the two came upon an open area that looked to be an abandoned quarry. Rayleigh had several logs and other training equipment set up and showed Naruto around the area before he got down to business.

The area they walked into was rather large and open while surrounded by tall sheer surfaces of exposed rock on nearly all sides with trees in the direction that they just came from. There was a small waterfall at one end that produced a small stream and a small pond of water on the floor of the quarry. Several large piles of rocks ranging from gravel sized to boulders were also around the area but a large flat spot was still left for sparring and other things. Rayleigh had spent over a day setting up several security and barrier seals to keep anyone out and ensure their privacy. All in all, Naruto really liked the new training area and couldn't wait to start his training.

"So, for next year and half this is where we will be training. Its rather secluded which is needed for this particular training considering that it is part of the Uzumaki clan's secret techniques and I want to be away from all prying eyes. We'll be meeting here Monday through Friday to work on your training in the three techniques that I have for you. We will still be working on your fuinjutsu and other training and you will still have your lessons with Shakky on the weekends. I won't lie, this training is rather intense and will only work on giving you the basics of the three techniques. You will have to continue your training from there on your own in order to perfect and hopefully master these techniques.

Before you say anything, I still remember about you entering the academy in several months and I will be teaching you a jutsu that will let you be in two places at once. So you don't have to worry about missing anything at the ninja academy while were training here." finished Rayleigh and he waited for all that he had just said to sink in to Naruto's head.

By that point, Naruto was having trouble standing still from the excitement. He wanted to start right away. "Can we start training today?"

Rayleigh smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. However his smile didn't reflect everything that he was feeling. He had decided that today he would explain to Naruto that he was dying. It wasn't something that would be easy or that he felt Naruto could completely handle at the present but he made up his mind. Both Rayleigh and Shakky had always been honest with Naruto and he didn't want to keep something like this from Naruto.

"Sure but before we start, how about a demonstration?" asked Rayleigh.

Despite the boy's mask, Rayleigh could easily tell that Naruto had a broad smile as he nodded his head in agreement.

"There's only one thing we need to find before we start." said Rayleigh.

Naruto looked curious and asked, "What's that?"

"That bear that nearly killed you." said Rayleigh with a cheery smile and Naruto paled drastically.

x-x

Forest of Death

x-x

"Are you sure its a good idea to go looking for it? I mean it did try to skewer me then eat my remains. Shouldn't we be trying to avoid that bear?" questioned Naruto as he wearily kept an eye on every direction in the forest to make sure nothing got the jump on them. He still didn't know why they were searching for the bear that nearly killed him because he wanted to avoid that bear at all costs.

"Of course I'm sure. That bear is just what I need for my demonstration." said Rayleigh but his words didn't match his thoughts. 'Any animal would do but I really want to teach that bear a lesson about trying to kill my grandson. Sure other animals tried to kill him but nothing ever got that close before.' thought Rayleigh with a frown. That bear was in for one hell of a surprise.

"Ahhh...this looks promising. It looks like were on the right track." said Rayleigh out loud as he examined deep scratch marks on one of the trees. The marks were meant to mark territory. About thirty feet off the ground, deep gouges were made in one of the surrounding trees. Naruto stared at the marks and estimated that they were about ten foot long each and probably gouged at their deepest nearly a foot into the tree trunk. 'Yeah that kinda looks like the work of that same bear that tried to kill me.' thought Naruto who was ready to jump at the slightest noise at this point.

It was when Naruto was looking at the tree that he started to feel the vibrations and noise. It was in a rhythm, a continuous beat that made a 'thud' sound and shook the ground slightly. He also noticed that it was getting louder and shaking the ground even more.

Looking past the 'marked' tree, Naruto saw the fur of a lumbering beast that he instantly recognized. He looked to Rayleigh to tell him but his sensei didn't seem bothered by the approaching animal. 'We have to run. Its getting closer and can probably smell us by now.' Naruto thought in a panic as Rayleigh didn't seem concerned that they were traveling somewhat downwind and would therefore alert any predators to their presence which was something Naruto had avoided as much as possible for the ten days that he spent in these dangerous woods.

Naruto noticed that Rayleigh had turned around exposing his back to the bear and was smiling to him. Naruto found that his voice wouldn't work at the moment so he tried to point out the approaching doom to his sensei but the man gave a look that said, 'yeah I know about the bear, its no big deal'. Naruto stayed rooted to the spot with the confidence that Rayleigh was showing but was ready to run as fast as he could at any second.

As the bear approached, Rayleigh starting talking to Naruto. "The techniques that I am going to teach you were all labeled as forbidden many years ago in Uzushio because of how dangerous the training was. However, over the years I have come up with more than one way to limit this danger. The techniques are called the 'Three Eddies" and so named in theme with the symbol of our village and as a way to explain them. The first technique is is called the 'Current of the Whirlpool' and deals with reading the flow of the world and enemy around you." stated Rayleigh and no sooner had he finished this explanation then the bear had noticed them and charged at him from behind.

Naruto watched horrified in slow motion as a clawed limb headed towards Rayleigh's back. He reached for his ninja pouch and grabbed any weapon that he could. He would be too late to attack the bear before it struck but he was reacting on instinct. However, before he could let loose his small arsenal, Rayleigh had nimble sidestepped the swing with complete ease.

The claw impacted the ground next to Rayleigh and Naruto halted his assault. The now enraged bear swung a second time and Rayleigh merely moved forward several steps and the swing missed his back probably by no more than a few inches. Naruto stood mesmerized at what he was watching. He couldn't understand what was happening. Rayleigh's back was turned, yet he was dodging deadly strikes with ease and without even looking back at his attacker. The entire time, Rayleigh's eyes had never left Naruto and his smile hadn't wavered.

By the third missed strike, Rayleigh started talking again. "The second technique is called the 'Power of the Whirlpool' and can be used to augment attack and defense." No sooner had Rayleigh finished this explanation then the bear decided that it had enough with trying to swipe at him and went straight for a bite.

Naruto's eyes widened again and he wanted to call out a warning but Rayleigh was still smiling. The man didn't seem to have a care in the world that a giant pissed off bear wanted to eat him. With an open palmed hand, he struck out towards the bears lower jaw. An incredible impact followed that resounded off the trees in the surrounding area. Rayleigh's palm didn't seem to have even connected with the bears jaw but it still sent the bear's head flying back. The force of the impact was so great that the bear even left the ground and smacked into the tree that it had 'marked' at an earlier date. If Naruto was shocked before, his eyes were now the size of dinner plates and his jaw clearly hanging open despite the mask. He couldn't believe what had happened to the bear.

'NO FUCKING WAY! What did Ray-sensei just do! It wasn't even a punch! His palm never even connected with the bear! The bear went air-born!' thought Naruto in amazement as he tried to wrap his mind around what he just witnessed.

Naruto's thoughts came back to the present as the bear wearily got up from off the ground and onto its four legs again. It looked around in a daze and then seemed to remember where it was. Now it looked fully alert and also really pissed. Naruto was about to say something when Rayleigh spoke again. "The third and final technique is called the 'Conquering Flow of the Whirlpool'. It is used to over power the will and life-force of others." stated Rayleigh with the same enthusiasm and smile as before.

Naruto watched as Rayleigh finally looked towards the bear. When he made eye contact, his eyes narrowed with a glare and something happened. The air seemed to shimmer outwards in a pulse of some kind. The bear stopped in its tracks. Its eyes rolled back exposing nothing but white and it started frothing at the mouth before it just collapsed onto the ground. The bear was completely unconscious.

A long silence followed before Rayleigh spoke, "So, what do you think about the techniques?"

Naruto stared at the bear and 'What do I think?' before he let his thoughts be known, "HOLY SHIT! YOU JUST KICKED THAT BEARS ASS!"

Rayleigh sweat-dropped as this wasn't the answer he wanted but he should have known better. "Naruto-kun that really isn't what I asked and who taught you that kind of language young man!" said Rayleigh in a strict and authoritative voice.

"Uhh...you did." replied Naruto with a deadpanned expression.

Rayleigh's eyes widened at the revelation and he was quick to respond, "Ahhh...well that may be but don't ever let your aunt catch you using that kind of language. I think we both remember what happened the last time." stated Rayleigh and both shivered at the memory.

About a year prior, Shakky had heard a younger Naruto cursing and after a very short interrogation she found out that he had heard Rayleigh using the same words. As punishment, she washed out both their mouths with soap. She had picked the most disgusting tasting soap she could get her hands on and she did a very thorough job.

Both individuals in the forest made disgusted faces as the phantom taste of the soap came back into their mouths.

After the bad taste moment had passed Rayleigh mentally sighed. 'Maybe its best to give a better explanation about the techniques later and focus on the other thing that I have to tell him.' Rayleigh really didn't want to tell Naruto that he was dying but he couldn't keep it from him forever. 'This is probably one of the hardest things that I've ever done.' Rayleigh thought sadly. Walking up to Naruto he lead the boy to a nearby root and sat down on it.

"Naruto-kun, there's something that I need to talk to you about." said Rayleigh in a sad voice. Naruto noticed the seriousness of his sensei and listened while he sat on the root. Every now and then he would glance over at the unconscious bear to make sure that it wasn't going to get back up and attack.

"Is it about the training? Because I'll be sure to master it, you just watch!" Naruto said with confidence.

Rayleigh gave a sad smile and replied, "I suppose you could say it is about the training. These techniques will probably be the last that I teach you." Before Naruto could say anything, Rayleigh continued with, "We'll still work on your other areas; kenjutsu, taijutsu, fuinjutsu, and your aunt Shakky still has many things that she is going to teach you. However, I won't be able to continue your training after we finish with these three techniques."

Naruto was confused at the statement and after checking on the bear again he sadly asked, "Why? Am I not good enough to learn anything else from you?"

"No, no, nothing like that its just that I don't have a lot of time left. Everything else that I wanted to teach you I wrote down in scrolls for you. I did my best to explain everything in ways to help you better understand the information but I won't be able to personally teach you any of it. Shakky will still be around for a while if you have any questions though." said Rayleigh as his gaze stared off into space.

"But why can't you teach me?" asked Naruto sadly. He wondered if he had done something wrong or if Rayleigh was no longer willing to teach him. 'Does he want me to learn on my own?'

"Naruto-kun, I won't be able to teach you not because I don't want to but because I won't be able to. You've been the best student I've ever had and I've enjoyed teaching you. The reason that I won't be able to continue is because...I'm dying." finished Rayleigh in a slightly softer voice then he had started with and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder while giving it a firm squeeze.

For Naruto, in that very moment, nothing else really mattered. He stopped worrying about the bear and everything else. He heard those words and his entire world shattered.

Please Review


	10. Chapter 10

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

**POLL:** I have added a poll to my profile page for the naming of one of the swords. Please vote for the selections listed and if you have an additional suggestions, please let me know so that I can add it to the poll choices. I will keep the poll up for several chapters and will announce the current results of voting in each chapter following this one.

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x-x

Chapter X: Everything changes

AN: **Continuation of last chapter, Naruto is still five and a half years old**

He didn't want to believe it. He wanted to reject what he had just been told, but as Naruto's mind started working and processing what he had heard, things started to fit into place. Observations that he had noticed and memories instantly started surfacing in his head.

Naruto remembered noticing that Rayleigh hadn't sparred with him in a while but started using water clones to work with him instead. At the time he wondered why but he just dismissed it. He remembered noticing that Rayleigh seemed to leave the house less and less than he used to. He remembered that Rayleigh seemed to take naps during that day that he didn't use to do.

Naruto remembered that Rayleigh or Shakky never seemed to celebrate their birthdays like they did his and he didn't know either of their ages. He remembered when they entered the forest of death that Rayleigh didn't seem to move like he used to and walked slower. They didn't use the trees to run but walked through the forest. And Naruto remembered when he was in the forest of death the last time and when his mind had wondered after being poisoned and thought that something seemed odd with Rayleigh but he couldn't explain it at the time.

The pieces fit together and what it told him was that Rayleigh was slowing down and not nearly as active as Naruto could remember. Was Rayleigh sick? Was it some kind of illness or disease? He didn't know how old Rayleigh was. Was it just old age? Naruto came back to reality from his thoughts and looked at his sensei sitting next to him. He noticed that the man seemed to have visibly aged in this past year but only in this past year.

As if reading the boy's mind Rayleigh spoke and ended the silence between them, "I know your probably putting things together and I will tell you that I'm not sick but I am dying."

"But how do you know and how are you dying then?" asked Naruto who was now more confused then ever.

"It's something about the Uzumaki clan and sometimes those from Uzushio in general. Our village was actually noted for the long lifespans of those living in it. Few ninja ever reached the point that they would die from natural causes but the ones that did always knew when it was coming. It was considered a great honor for ninja of Uzushio to die natural deaths because it usually meant that they had survived everything that the ninja world had thrown at them." said Rayleigh and before Naruto could ask another question he continued, "Naruto-kun, I've lived a very long life. This year I'll be one hundred fourteen years old. The following year I'll have lived as long as nature intended and there is nothing that you or anyone can do to stop that and I wouldn't want anyone to. It's my time to die and I intend to face death with a smile. Death is not something that can be stopped or pushed aside, it is the natural course of all things."

Naruto understood what Rayleigh was saying but he wished that there was something he could do. He felt helpless at this point. For as long as he could remember, Rayleigh had been a constant in his life and now that constant would no longer be there. The mere thought was terrifying to Naruto and he could no longer hold back his tears. Rayleigh embraced the boy that he had grown to consider his grandson and possibly even a son.

"I decided to tell you now because neither Shakky or I want to keep anything from you." said Rayleigh while hugging Naruto while the boy sobbed in his arms. Rayleigh wasn't about to saying anything like 'shinobi aren't suppose to cry' or something stupid like that. People have emotions and he wasn't about to stop Naruto from letting it all out.

After a while Rayleigh decided that they needed to get back to the training and also he had noticed a while ago that at least a dozen giant tigers had been slowly surrounding them. 'Their probably the ones that chased Naruto. I guess they must be holding a grudge and with the bear out of the picture they will move in for the kill.' Rayleigh thought as he felt the tigers slowly start to do just what he was thinking they would. Although Rayleigh didn't want to admit it, he was rather tired from using his Haki. Even just the demonstration had left him winded and he wasn't exactly sure if he could defeat all the tigers. He probably could knock all the tigers out with another burst of his Haki but he didn't want Naruto to have to carry him back to the village.

"I know this is a very tender moment but I think we need to get going." stated Rayleigh in a calm tone.

"Why's that?" asked Naruto as he looked over and noticed that the bear was still out cold.

"Well, I don't want to alarm you but those tigers that you escaped from have been following us since we entered the forest. I guess their holding a grudge and want to finish what they started." stated Rayleigh with a slight smile.

Naruto inspected the area around them but wasn't able to detect any threats. "Are you sure? Is there a way out?"

"Not really, they've surrounded us pretty good but we can probably get out if we go up into the trees." stated Rayleigh as he looked around.

"No that won't work." Naruto stated and he proceeded to explain why, "I know for certain that they can climb pretty good. We'd have to fight if we went up into the trees."

Rayleigh laughed as he understood that Naruto had first hand experience trying to evade the tigers. "Alright then what would you suggest?" asked Rayleigh as this was a good time to test Naruto and see what he could come up with in a dire situation.

Naruto quickly thought about it and a smile appeared behind his mask. He jumped on Rayleigh's back and put his arms around his neck as if he was going to piggy back. "This really isn't the kind of solution I was hoping you would come up with." deadpanned Rayleigh as he thought Naruto's idea was to have Rayleigh carry him safely away from the tigers.

Naruto's smile didn't waver though and he made the ram seal with his arms around Rayleigh's neck. "I do have a plan Ray-sensei. Just hold on."

With the addition of a hand-seal, Rayleigh was now rather curious at what Naruto was going to do. The tigers had begun to move and whatever it was that Naruto was going to do, he needed to do it now.

As the tigers made themselves known and jumped at the pair, Naruto shouted "Henge" and a poof of smoke enveloped both Naruto and Rayleigh. With the smoke blocking their vision, several of the giant tigers that were the fastest to lung ended up ramming into each other headfirst. Out of the top of the smoke, a large bird emerged that was the combined henge of both Naruto and Rayleigh. The remaining tigers tried to climb the trees to keep up with the bird but it was just too fast for them. Naruto was controlling the transformation and Rayleigh was just around for the ride and what a ride it was. Rayleigh had never flown before and since Naruto was the only human that could use such an advanced henge, it was a very enjoyable experience for the elder Uzumaki.

'I had no idea that Naruto knew how to perform the combination henge. Maybe I should have Naruto stay away from this forest for a while. Those tigers aren't likely to forget this upset, especially if they didn't forget the first one.' thought Rayleigh with a laugh as the large bird expertly maneuvered through the large limbs of the trees and exited the canopy of the forest.

'This is amazing! I never thought I'd get the chance to ever fly before." thought Rayleigh as Naruto banked towards the village, specifically Ichiraku's. 'I guess were going for lunch' Rayleigh thought and wondered if he had enough money for ramen.

x-x

Training Ground Forty-three, Naruto's secret training area

x-x

After a large lunch, Rayleigh and Naruto had headed back to the training area that Rayleigh had prepared. Naruto was still giving Rayleigh glances of concern and Rayleigh knew the look that the boy was giving him. It was one of concern and sadness. Naruto was concerned about Rayleigh and was also still having trouble dealing with the fact that Rayleigh only had a year and a half left to live. 'I'll have to talk with Sarutobi-san about perhaps getting Naruto counseling or at least talking with someone.' thought Rayleigh.

In a village full of ninja who had difficult missions, there were several places that a ninja could go to get help with their problems. Of course few if any actually went there which lead to having so many 'unique' ninja in the village with odd personalities and quirks. Rayleigh wanted Naruto to perhaps get some grief counseling or something because he knew that it would be difficult for the boy to deal with his inevitable death. Rayleigh still had concerns with whether or not he should have told Naruto or waited but he had made a decision and was sticking with it.

The best thing that he could do for Naruto now was to keep busy and he also planned to introduce Naruto to Anko to hopefully increase the number of people that Naruto had in the village that he could talk with.

"Alright, so you remember the three techniques that I showed you earlier?" getting a nod from his student, Rayleigh proceeded with his lecture, "The three techniques are referred to as the Three Eddies and are forbidden techniques of the Uzumaki clan but over the years since they were forbidden I have been working on ways to limit the hazards of learning these techniques. Do you have any questions?"

Naruto thought about the techniques that he had seen and couldn't help but make comparisons to something that he had read in his books. He didn't voice his comparison at the time because of the bear, the awesomeness of seeing the techniques, and what Rayleigh had told him after-wards.

"So these three techniques are just like Haki? So I'm going to be learning how to use Haki?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"No of course not. These techniques are nothing like that." said Rayleigh dismissively but as he thought about it, he did make similar comparisons and was surprised that he hadn't noticed it before.

"Yes they are quite similar." said Rayleigh in a matter-of-factly tone while stroking his beard which made Naruto sweat-drop.

The more Rayleigh thought about the similarities, the more he found it incredibly strange just how similar the Uzumaki secret techniques were to the three applications of Haki as listed in the books that Naruto loved to read. Seeing that Naruto had made the comparison and that his student always had trouble understanding many of his lectures, Rayleigh decided just to go with it. 'At least he'll be able to understand everything if I group Haki and life-force as the same thing.'

"So I am going to be teaching you how to sense and use Haki." said Rayleigh as if the previous conservations had never occurred. 'Those books never really explained anything about what exactly Haki was or how to learn to use it. Combining my teaching and what I know from Shakky reading those books so many times while I listened, I should be able to explain this to him far better than I originally hoped.'

As soon an Naruto had stopped jumping up and down with excitement, Rayleigh continued, "Now Haki is really a power that lies dormant in all things. It's also completely separate from Chakra. It can be described as presence, a fighting spirit, your ambition, willpower, or life-force. As an Uzumaki, we are gifted with a very large life-force and longevity. That power isn't really all that different from your other senses but is much harder to learn."

Naruto's eyes widened at hearing the 'gifted' part and he blurted out, "So do I have the kings disposition?"

Rayleigh took a moment to think about this and said, "Yes, I suppose its possible that you do. Your mother was able to use her unique chakra along with her willpower to suppress the Kyuubi as did my sensei Uzumaki Mito but your chakra may not work the same way as hers as you just don't have the same special chakra but that doesn't mean that you can't learn to use it like I did in the forest. Few of the students that trained to use Haki in Uzushio, before it was forbidden, were able to use the final form of the Three Eddies or Haoshoku Haki."

Naruto nodded his head as he attentively listened to what Rayleigh was saying. This was probably the most interesting lecture that Rayleigh had ever given him and it was also probably the one that he understood the most. "So how do I start training to use Haki."

"Well, that is where things get complicated. You have to start by learning the first form of Haki which is the Color of Observation in your books. The first step is to learn to detect and then read another person's life-force or Haki. Once you do that, you'll be able to detect when anyone is around you and know what they are going to do before they do it. It works differently for different people. Some were able to actually see a picture of what the person was going to do before they did it while others were only able to get a feeling of what was going to happen. Some were never able to figure out what was going to happen next but could still detect others. The main thing that you have to be aware of is that you won't be able to even properly use the Color of Observation to its fullest potential if you aren't fast enough to react. What I am going to be teaching you during this year and a half is the basics of each form of Haki and then you will have to work on increasing your speed and mastering them after...after I'm gone." finished Rayleigh.

There was a moment of silence between the two. Rayleigh decided to break the silence as he didn't want Naruto to start thinking about more depressing thoughts. "Well, the first thing we need to do is some fuinjutsu." stated Rayleigh as he reached for a scroll in his pocket. Opening up the scroll and unsealing the contents revealed a sealing kit that Rayleigh often used when he was teaching Naruto about seals.

"Fuinjutsu? What does that have to do with Haki?" questioned Naruto as he was a little confused. The books that he had never revealed exactly how to train in using Haki but he was certain that it didn't involve seals as fuinjutsu didn't exist in his One Piece books.

"If you remember, I said that I had many years after the training was forbidden to look at alternative methods that were safer. In doing so I naturally turned to fuinjutsu and came up with a seal that will greatly help you in your training." Said Rayleigh with a smile.

x-x

Rayleigh was just finishing the final touches of his seal on the back of Naruto's shoulder. While working, the elder Uzumaki couldn't help but notice the set of scars on the boys back. They weren't all that large or noticeable but they were still there. Rayleigh had never noticed Naruto scar before and believed that his healing abilities were advanced enough that he didn't scar at all. He had heard about the wound and Naruto using his henge to help stop the bleeding. Rayleigh couldn't help but wonder exactly why the wound had scarred. 'Perhaps his body just couldn't completely heal such as large wound but the scars don't look that large.' were the thoughts running through Rayleigh's head.

Putting aside his thoughts, he finished the seal and let Naruto put his shirt back on. The seal was one that Rayleigh designed specifically for this training. The seal wasn't dangerous but its affects could cause psychological problems for Naruto if the boy let it get to him.

"So what does this seal do?" said Naruto as he twisted his head around to try to get a look at the seal on the back of his shoulder but ended up spinning in circles without every seeing the seal. Rayleigh laughed at the boy's antics as it was similar to a dog chasing his tail.

"I designed the seal to better help you learn to sense the life-force or Haki of others. A persons' life-force is different from their chakra. Dojutsu like the Byakugan and Sharingan can see chakra but they can't actually see a persons' life-force. Life-force can however be felt. Normally it would be impossible for a person to sense another's life-force because no one really uses their life-force and it would be improbable that someone would be able to sense it without any training.

That is where this training comes in. You can see a person, you can hear them, you can smell them, you can touch them, you can't really taste them and you really shouldn't try, and you possibly can also sense their chakra but few people are chakra sensors. These are all distractions to the goal that you are trying to achieve in this training of sensing my life-force. I'm the only person around and there really aren't any animals near us so you should focus on sensing me and my life-force. My seal is meant to help you eliminate the distractions." stated Rayleigh as he gave his lecture to Naruto with a smile.

"So how does your seal eliminate the distractions?" asked Naruto curiously. Naruto had a great interest in seals and could understand them the way that Rayleigh explained them to him. If Naruto could actually see the seal on his shoulder then he might be able to work out what it does but he couldn't, not for lack of trying.

Rayleigh smiled as Naruto was definitely paying attention and understanding his lecture so he enthusiastically continued, "By removing all your senses and completely suppressing your chakra. Once your senses are removed and your chakra suppressed, it removes all of the distractions around you. When a person loses one of their senses, the others usually get stronger to compensate. If you lose all of your senses and have your chakra suppressed, the only way that you could sense me is by sensing my life-force. With all your senses gone, your body would start developing another sense and thus this is how you will train to detect my life-force." Naruto's eyes widened as Rayleigh revealed what the seal did.

"Wouldn't I just start sensing your chakra?" asked Naruto and Rayleigh smiled at the ingenious question.

"I suppose you would, but what would happen if I suppressed my chakra as well." stated Rayleigh and Naruto understood what he was talking about. 'There would be nothing left to sense but Ray-sensei's life-force and he has a large life-force too because he's also an Uzumaki.' Naruto thought as he finished Rayleigh's statement in his head.

"But why did you say it was dangerous then?" asked Naruto curiously as he didn't understand how the seal could be detrimental to him.

"Naruto-kun, you really can't understand the experience of completely losing one of your senses until it has happened to you. Any individual can lose one of their senses and with some time and adjustment can adapt to the new situation. Losing all of your senses is completely different though. That kind of experience can be completely terrifying to a degree that you've never felt before. Something like that can overwhelm even an experienced shinobi. Of course that's if you let it get to you. Since you are focusing on a goal of sensing me it might not be an issue but if at any time you need me to release the seal all you have to do is say so." said Rayleigh in a serious tone.

Naruto's eyes widened at the explanation and the seriousness of Rayleigh's voice but he just couldn't understand what would be so terrifying about it. 'So I lose all of my senses, no big deal. Ray-sensei can release the seal whenever I need to.' thought Naruto but he couldn't shake his unease about what his sensei had said.

"Today you will just be getting used to the seal and then we are going to play a little bit of a game. As you can see, I've made a circle in the dirt and I won't be able to leave the circle and your job is to find me in the circle after the seal has been activated. It's sort of game of blind man's bluff only with more handicaps for you. This is pretty much what the training will be like for the next month or so, until you are able to sense my life-force." said Rayleigh and he made a hand-seal to activate the seal on Naruto's back.

x-x

'Sensei was right. Its like nothing I've ever experienced.' thought Naruto as he tried to focus on sensing Rayleigh while standing still in the middle of the circle. At least he believed he was still in the middle of the circle, he hadn't moved but he couldn't see. He couldn't feel anything with the seal activated. Naruto used to believe that he had an idea of what 'loneliness' felt like and meant but it turned out he had no idea what true loneliness was. True loneliness was what he was currently feeling. An empty area, devoid of any light, sound, touch, taste, smell, and anything at all that he valued or loved. It truly was a hell like no other.

Naruto couldn't see anything, he couldn't feel anything, he couldn't smell anything, he couldn't hear anything or taste anything and he certainly couldn't sense anything at all. He tried to concentrate, but like when they practiced initially with the seal 'it' slowly got to him. 'It' was the emptiness and nothingness that surrounded him while the seal was activated. Sometimes he thought that he was being watched or that he was being smothered but none of those things were really happening. He would have Rayleigh release the seal and find out that nothing was wrong but he would always be breathing heavily, his heart was always racing, and he always felt chills despite being in the sun.

When the seal was activated he couldn't feel his breathing or his heartbeat. Slowly 'it' seemed to be eating away at him. He could last for several minutes but he always lost in the end. He was surrounded by darkness when the seal was activated and it greatly affected his thoughts. Naruto once thought that what he experienced from the villagers was bad but he was wrong, this was so much worse. Sometimes he could almost feel himself slipping away into the nothingness or perhaps he was being pulled into the nothingness. Whichever it was, it scared him more than anything else he had ever faced before. However, despite that he was scared and that it was probably the most difficult thing that he had ever done, Naruto refused to give up.

Suddenly the seal was turned off and everything came back to him. The influx of sensory input left him in a daze and he realized after a short while that he was on the ground. Naruto had no idea when he had fallen down though. Looking up he saw the concerned face of his sensei. "Perhaps we should take a break and begin again tomorrow." said Rayleigh and though he was concerned for Naruto and it was probably the right suggested, Naruto almost felt guilty about quitting the exercise. He hadn't accomplished anything. His sensei was dying and these techniques were some of the last things that Rayleigh would be able to teach him and he didn't make any progress at all.

Rayleigh sighed as he could tell what was going through Naruto's mind. "Naruto-kun, I don't expect you to make any progress on your first day. I planned for several months just to teach you the basics of this technique. Just because you didn't make any progress today doesn't mean that you won't get the hang of it eventually."

"But...but it feels like I'm letting you down." said Naruto as he looked away from his sensei. He just couldn't meet the man's eyes right at that moment.

"Naruto-kun you haven't let me down at all." said Rayleigh and he cut off Naruto's rebuttal, "And taking a well deserved break is very different from giving up. This training was forbidden for a reason and despite my seals making it a bit safer, that doesn't mean that it still isn't dangerous. Lets go back to the house and work on some fuinjutsu before dinner."

Naruto nodded and excepted Rayleigh's extended hand to help pull him to his feet. Naruto didn't realize how weak his legs felt until he was standing. He felt like he had just done sprints around the village which was a usual part of the physical training that Rayleigh had him do. 'Maybe I could use a break.' he thought as Rayleigh lead him back to village.

x-x

A month later, Secret training ground

x-x

Despite what Naruto may have thought in the beginning, he never got used to the effects of the seal. He thought perhaps that he would build up a resistance against the experience of not having his senses but it never got any easier when the seal was activated. Rayleigh had commented that Naruto was doing very well but he still didn't have much progress. It was terribly frustrating for Naruto.

Sometimes Naruto would think that he could feel something and start walking in the direction that he thought Rayleigh was in but he had only had limited success with that. His chances of actually finding Rayleigh were about fifty-fifty and usually when he was correct he couldn't tell the distance that his sensei was from him and ended up running into the man. Naruto found that he was naturally very lucky so it was difficult to tell if he was making progress or he was just getting lucky.

Naruto was currently focusing and trying to find his sensei. On Rayleigh's suggestion, he had started placing his hands into a hand-seal that he felt comfortable with in order to help him focus and stave off the negative effects of losing his senses. Naruto didn't even realize that in the past month of training he had become more quiet and not as rambunctious or loud as he used to be. Rayleigh was a little concerned about that, as were the people that knew Naruto, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong. Naruto just seemed to have quieted down and it was most likely because of the training.

While walking through the village, Naruto had noticed that certain people now stood out to him that didn't before. He observed those people but couldn't figure out why they seemed to stand out to him. Naruto had asked Rayleigh about it and his sensei had told him not to worry about it and that the answer would eventually come. Naruto was never the patient one but Rayleigh almost always knew better than him.

What Rayleigh hadn't told Naruto was that the training was actually forcing Naruto to become a chakra sensor. The reason that those people tended to stand out to Naruto was because they had larger chakra reserves than the other people around them. Meaning that they were most likely off-duty ninja or perhaps members of a ninja clan. Naruto hadn't completely developed the chakra sensing ability yet but Rayleigh knew by the time the first part of his training was over, Naruto would be a chakra sensor. Despite both boy and sensei having their chakra suppressed during the exercise, it would still increase Naruto's sense of chakra because all of his other senses were gone. Rayleigh was merely using the training to also get Naruto to sense life-force.

The only people that Naruto could remotely sense were those that weren't trying to suppress their chakra. Naruto walked right by any ninja that were hidden from normal view, such as the ANBU around the Hokage tower, and couldn't detect ninja that were even remotely suppressing their chakra. While Rayleigh knew that Naruto would be a chakra sensor, he had no idea how sensitive Naruto would be or what his range would be. An accomplished chakra sensor was usually skilled with both; they had a long range of detection, over a hundred feet, and were sensitive, meaning that they could differentiate between different people and possibly still sense someone despite that person actively suppressing his or her chakra.

Chakra sensors were rare because it tended to be a trait that someone was born with or learned over several years of training. Veteran ninja usually had some ability at sensing higher levels of chakra but evidently Rayleigh had found a short cut by accident. The original training for the the first of the Three Eddies was different and usually didn't result in a ninja developing chakra sensing abilities. With the use of his seal, Naruto was becoming a chakra sensor in record time.

Rayleigh was standing about ten feet away from Naruto and deep in thought about his student. 'I'm pushing him too hard. Expecting too much from him. No one this young has every attempted this training.' thought Rayleigh sadly. More than one person had noticed a change in Naruto's behavior and Rayleigh attributed it to telling Naruto that he was dying and the training.

What Rayleigh wanted more than anything was to teach Naruto everything that he knew and pass on all of his knowledge. Unfortunately that just wasn't possible. He didn't want to have any regrets before he died and he would regret not being able to fully train Naruto. Rayleigh was trying to fit in as much training as possible in such a short time and was thinking that he was just being selfish and pushing Naruto much harder than what was safe for a child. The last thing that Rayleigh wanted was for Naruto to burn-out or become an emotionless ninja that completed his mission and killed without feeling like that Uchiha prodigy that he had been hearing about.

'Naruto also refuses to give up on the training and won't take more breaks.' mused Rayleigh as he was proud of the boys determination but worried about his mental state because of it. Rayleigh was brought out of his misgivings when he noticed that Naruto moved. His student's head had rotated and he was looking directly at Rayleigh, though couldn't actually see him. 'That's new.' Rayleigh mused as he watched to see what his student would do next.

As Naruto was trying to concentrate on detecting Rayleigh's life-force he noticed something that he hadn't. At first it was just a brief feeling. Naruto decided to focus on that. Whatever it was it definitely stood out, like a dim candle in a dark room. The more he focused, the more he could feel something there. He turned his head in the direction of whatever it was. Because of the seal he couldn't actually see anything but he imagined a white fire burning not too far away from him.

If felt nice, warm, and the more he focused on it, the more he forgot all about the emptiness around him. His body acted and he started walking towards the fire. Naruto wasn't exactly sure what was happening because as he walked towards the fire, it started moving and he followed where it moved.

After an unknown amount of time, the seal was released and Naruto squinted to see because despite it being a cloudy day, his eyes needed to adjust. When Naruto could properly see he looked at a beaming Rayleigh and knew that he had finally made progress. Naruto did something he hadn't done in almost a month, he gave one of his patented foxy smiles, which was hidden behind his mask.

x-x

Two Months Later, secret training ground

x-x

SPLASH! Another water balloon impacted Naruto because he didn't dodge in time and laughter again echoed on the quarry walls. Rayleigh and Anko were really enjoying this segment of Naruto's training as they got to pelt him with water balloons and pass it off as a training exercise. The goal of the training was to get Naruto to use Haki sensing and predict the movements and actions of both Anko and Rayleigh, although no one told Anko the exact specifics. Her version was that the training was to teach Naruto to dodge on instinct which wasn't completely untruthful.

"This is so much more fun than that B-rank mission I was going to take." laughed Anko as she threw another water balloon that pegged Naruto in the head. Rayleigh couldn't help but laugh as well but they both stopped when Naruto started talking.

"Shut up! I know your laughing at me and its not funny. Do you have any idea how hard it is to dodge those balloons with no ability to actually sense them?" yelled Naruto as he couldn't tell how loud his own voice was.

Both Anko and Rayleigh stopped for a moment, then burst out laughing again and another volley of water balloons were thrown. Both were direct hits.

Naruto had to dodge the water balloons that they was throwing while the seal on his shoulder was active. This meant that Naruto had no senses in which to see or hear the water balloons coming and had to rely on his sensing of both individual's life-force to try to predict their movements and dodge the projectiles. Since Rayleigh had a larger life-force it was easier for Naruto to dodge the water balloons from him and much harder to dodge them from Anko.

Although Naruto was bereft of his five senses, he could still tell when he was hit by a balloon because the impact registered as it jarred him slightly. It was a good thing that he couldn't hear Rayleigh's and Anko's laughter because it would have definitely destroyed what was left of his concentration.

His concentration was already hindered because he thought they were laughing at him but if he actually heard the laughter, it would be much worse. It had been two months since Rayleigh had taken Naruto to meet Anko at the dango shop they frequented. Anko had made fun of Naruto by referring to him as a 'Scarecrow' and Naruto had no idea what she meant.

He finally got fed up and asked Anko what she was talking about. It turned out that an ANBU member named Kakashi also wore a mask and went around reading books during his breaks from missions. She seemed to find the resemblance between the two rather amusing. The only differences were that Kakashi had gray/silver hair that defied gravity and wore a blue mask instead of a very dark green. Naruto didn't know what to think. Apparently he was mimicking someone else without having ever meeting them or knowing that they existed. He honestly didn't know what to do. He liked wearing his mask and he wasn't about to stop reading his books whenever he wanted to. At the time he thought, 'Whatever, since he's in ANBU and doing missions all the time I probably won't ever meet him.'

Since then, Naruto had gotten closer with Anko but they still had their differences. Rayleigh had started inviting Anko to help with Naruto's training. Before the academy started, Rayleigh was planning to teach Naruto how to use shadow clones to keep up the secret training when Naruto was supposed to be in class. The first year of the ninja academy didn't involve anything too strenuous and mostly introductory things, so a shadow clone wouldn't be noticed or dispelled. Thus Naruto could be in two places at once several days of the week. Rayleigh did want Naruto to personally go to the academy at least two days a week to give the boy a break and interact with a class of children his age, but the remaining three days would be used for training while a shadow clone sat in on the classes.

Until that point, the water balloon training would most likely continue. Naruto was only able to dodge about half of the projectiles which was an improvement from not being able to dodge any in the beginning. While Naruto had great incredible progress with being able to sense life-force, he was having a much harder time predicting movements. According to Rayleigh's training schedule, by the following month Naruto will have to start dodging more dangerous projectiles, such as shuriken and kunai. Anko was waiting with giddy anticipation for that day. Water balloons were great but she wanted to use real weapons to help Naruto learn to dodge. Rayleigh was planning to work on having Naruto dodge real projectiles both with and without the seal active in order to test his sensing in real world or battle conditions. Naruto had yet to hear about these future plans and Rayleigh couldn't help but feel that it was for the best.

Using the first of the Three Eddies or the Color of Observation in controlled situations without any other distractions, which was what they were currently doing, was far easier and different from using the same ability without the seal in uncontrolled situations. While Naruto had growing success with the seal and under these conditions, it would be a whole different story if the seal was deactivated and he was in a real life situation. This was why it would take Naruto many years of further training to properly be able to use the three techniques.

x-x

Near the Konoha Ninja Academy, on the following Wednesday

x-x

It was Wednesday again and Naruto was walking through the village. He really hated having a day that he was supposed to be taking a break and resting from training. Since it was about a month before he was scheduled to start the academy, Naruto walked towards the building which was near the Hokage tower and right below the Hokage Mountain. He had never actually gone to see the academy before and he was curious to see what the building was like.

Naruto wanted to be careful and not run into any teachers so he took a roundabout way to the building that gave him cover through several wooded areas. Naruto jumped to the next tree limb but stopped as he heard a noise. Naruto couldn't sense anyone in the nearby area, but he could still hear voices. He decided to investigate because whoever it was probably wasn't a ninja as they didn't have enough chakra to register with his chakra sensing abilities and in his opinion, they were making too much noise.

Stealthily moving closer to the noises, Naruto found himself looking down on a small clearing with four children in it. He looked at each of the children and assessed the situation. 'Three boys and one girl. The girl is dressed completely differently then the rest...dark pants and shirt...short blueish hair.' As Naruto looked at the girl, who was on her hands and knees while being taunted by the three boys, he noticed that he had seen her before. 'She's that girl that was being escorted by all those clan members.' he thought.

Naruto could no longer sit in the tree and watch as the girl was now being forced to bow and to apologize over and over again for something she supposedly did to the three boys. As she was being reduced to tears, Naruto jumped down to the ground.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as despite landing on ground not too far away from the three bullies, they hadn't noticed him yet. From the conversation that he was overhearing, they were at least a year older than him and already in the academy.

"OI! I'm only going to ask once for you three to leave that girl alone." stated Naruto in a loud enough voice for all in the area to hear.

All three boys quickly turned around to see who had managed to sneak up on them. Even Hinata had raised her head to see who it was that had spoken. The bullies looked at the newcomer and nearly laughed. It was just some little brat that was wearing a face mask. The bullies advanced on Naruto and formed a semi-circle around him in order to intimidate him.

Naruto wasn't intimated at all and didn't budge. He was very interested to see how he stood up against three academy students.

The lead bully, who was standing right in front of Naruto said, "And just who do you think you are, some stupid kid playing ninja?" the others laughed at what their leader said but Naruto was unfazed by the verbal jab as Anko was much more creative with her's.

"Uzumaki Naruto." was the only thing that Naruto said in response.

While the bullies didn't want to seem intimidated by the name, the signs were easy for Naruto to see and read. They did know of his name and they were now more wary of him. Naruto had no idea how they knew his name or why they were now wary of him but he didn't really care. 'Good this should make the fight more interesting as they'll be more alert and prepared.' thought Naruto.

The leader was again the first to speak, "Oh so your 'that kid'." was what he said.

Naruto thought of a response and smiled behind his mask, "No I'm not 'that kid', I'm the kid that's going to be the strongest person in the world one day." stated Naruto with confidence. The bullies would obviously not know what he was talking about but that was actually starting to become his dream. He wanted to master and learn everything that Rayleigh and Zoro's memoirs had to teach him and become stronger than anyone before him. Naruto didn't know what he wanted to do with that strength but for now he was content with stopping three idiots from bullying a girl that probably didn't do anything wrong and didn't deserve what they were doing to her

The response that Naruto received didn't surprise him, they again all laughed at him. "Did you hear, the strongest person in the world. Yeah right!" said the heavier boy to Naruto's right. "There's no way some short scrawny kid like you is going to be the strongest in the world." stated the leader and he threw the first punch.

Naruto had been trying to sense their life-force and predict their actions since the beginning of the fight with no success. 'Ray-sensei was right, it's much harder to predict what an opponent is going to do without using the seal and while training.' thought Naruto as he instinctively caught the punch before it hit him.

Naruto was surprised at how easy it had been. The punch wasn't really fast and had no strength behind it. He was prepared for anything but the boy who through the punch was completely caught of guard and not wanting to waste the opportunity, Naruto threw his own punch.

x-x

Hyuuga Hinata was not having a very good day but ever since her mother died, she had never had a single good day. This day was just slightly worse than many others. She had again been defeated by her younger sister, Hanabi, and saw the disappointment on her father's face as he walked away with Hanabi and left her on the floor of the training room.

After that, Hinata had run away from the compound and had no idea where she was going. She just wanted to get as far away from the compound as possible. Unfortunately she ran right into a group of three boys and that's when things got even worse. Now she was on her hands and knees while apologizing over and over again to the academy students that wouldn't let her leave or accept any of her apologies.

At some point they had mentioned her cousin Neji and thought that she had the same attitude as he and the rest of her clan did towards others. That was of course untruthful but they still wouldn't believe her. Hinata just wanted the day to be over and to get away from these three and she started crying for the second time that day.

It was at that point that someone else came. She heard another voice and the focus of the bullies was changed from her to the new person. Looking up, Hinata saw a short boy with orange hair (AN: he's using orange this week) wearing a face mask and standard clothing that didn't stand out. As the bullies left her and circled around him, she noticed that he wasn't afraid or worried in any way. Of course Hinata was worried for him and confused. Why was he standing up for her? Didn't he know that he was going to get hurt and that he was outnumbered by academy students? One of which was literally twice his size.

The boy looked familiar and Hinata recalled seeing him before. He was probably the first person to ever wave at her.

Words were exchanged between the boy and the bullies but he didn't back down. She finally heard his name and then heard what he had proclaimed. 'The strongest person in the world?' Hinata couldn't help wondering why he wanted to be the strongest of even how he would do it. She knew many 'strong' people and she would never imagine that she would ever be stronger than her father or her sister, or her cousin Neji.

When the first punch was thrown, Hinata was fixed to the spot and despite not wanted to watch what she believed was going to happen, she found that she couldn't look away. After catching the first punch, the orange haired boy returned his own which knocked out the leader. The other two bullies attacked from both sides but the boy dodged their attacks and delivered his own. The fight was over in a few moments and despite what she initially thought, the small boy that challenged the larger, older, and seemingly more experienced bullies had easily won. He didn't even have a single mark on him and bullies never even touched him. It didn't make any sense.

Hinata couldn't believe her eyes. The underdog of the fight had triumphed. Someone had actually stood up for her, which hadn't happened since her mother died. Her eyes met with those of the boy and she wasn't afraid or worried. His eyes held no scorn for her and he wasn't angry. If anything, his eyes seemed rather kind.

She sat in the same place as the boy walked a little closer to her. Hinata had no idea what to do. Should she run? Should she thank him? She came out of her thoughts when the boy spoke up.

"You really shouldn't let other people treat you like that. No one should be treated like that, especially from idiots like these." said Naruto as he kicked the sides of one of the downed bullies and received a groan.

Few people in her life had ever showed concern for her and never a person she just met. But he was wrong, she was weak and probably deserved to be treated like that. Everyone in her clan believed she was weak and a failure, including her own family. They all treated her the same way.

"I-I-I'm w-weak a-a-and a f-f-ailure..." Hinata started to stutter out but she was cut off, "Who told you that?" stated Naruto in a serious tone. Hinata could tell that he was angry and she believed that he was most likely angry with her for contradicting him. She managed to get out, "my f-f-father.."

"Well, your father's an idiot." stated Naruto seriously.

Hinata's head shot up and her eyes were wide at what the boy had said. No one had ever called her father an idiot or any derogatory term for that matter. Hyuuga Hiashi was the head of the Hyuuga clan and one simply did not go around calling him an idiot.

"You really shouldn't believe what he says. Someone once told me that a person will become weak if they believe themselves to be weak. If you believe in yourself, you'll become stronger. Even if its only by a small amount. Whatever your father says about you being weak, you should just ignore him." said Naruto as he repeated words that Rayleigh had once told him.

Hinata who had been stunned at his earlier feelings of her father being an idiot was even more so now. 'Ignore him' she thought with complete confusion. How could she ignore her father?

"When you train, do you try or do you just give up?" asked Naruto.

Hinata took a little while to collect herself before she was able to answer, "I t-t-try." Hinata admitted. Lately though she had been wanted to just give up more and more.

"Well, as long as you try, you'll never be a failure, no matter what your father says." said Naruto and Hinata once again stared at the boy in front of her.

The two were interrupted by someone calling out "Hinata-sama" and coming their way. An young man entered the area. Naruto recognized the person as one of the ones that had accompanied the girl before.

After finding his charge, Hyuuga Ko looked over the area they were in. He tensed as he noticed that three boys were laying on the ground unconscious while to his shock, the Kyuubi-brat was standing not too far away. Ko tensed and was ready for anything that might happen and to defend the Hyuuga heiress.

Ko looked away from Naruto for only a moment to see if Hinata was alright. She seemed unhurt and when he looked back he found the Kyuubi container was gone. Ko looked around the area and saw nothing so he activated his Byakugan. A quick search revealed nothing as well. 'Where did the Kyuubi-brat go!' thought Ko frantically as he tried to find the vanished Jinchuuriki

Seeing as the boy was gone, Ko relaxed and focused on his charge. "Hinata-sama, are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?"

Hinata answered as best as she could. She didn't know why Ko-san was so hostile towards the boy that had saved her or why he thought that the boy had hurt her. "N-no, I-I-I'm f-fine. A-Ano, why.." but she was cut off by Ko, "Hinata-sama you should stay away from that boy, Uzumaki Naruto, and not associated him in any way."

Hinata wanted to know why Ko felt that way and what the boy who had saved her had done to incur such hostility and wariness from others. Ko lead her away from the forested area and made sure to notify someone about the three boys so they could be taken to the hospital. Although Hinata did try to ask questions, Ko refused to answer them or dodged the questions while he lead her back to the compound.

After they had left, a head emerged from the ground. It didn't actually break the surface but seemed to move through the soil as if the ground was a liquid. Naruto saw the pair leave the forest and he decided to also leave before someone else came to pick up the three bullies and take them to the hospital. He knew he didn't hurt them enough to need medical care but people tended to act crazy when children were concerned.

While Naruto knew that he had done the right thing in the situation he was presented with, he had no idea what the consequences of his actions would be.

(AN: the previous segment about the bullies and Hinata was something that happened in the anime as part of a flashback when Hinata faces Pein. In my version Naruto defeats the bullies whereas he is knocked out in the anime. This will have a very different outcome for him in the following chapter and **no I wasn't planning on this being a Naru/hina fanfic, even though it seems like I set it up that way.)  
**

Please Review


	11. Chapter 11

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

**POLL:** The poll for the naming of one of Naruto's swords will continue for several more chapters. Please vote for the selections listed and if you have an additional suggestions, please let me know so that I can add it to the poll choices. I will keep the poll up for several chapters and will announce the current results of voting in each chapter following this one.

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x-x

Chapter XI: Nothing ever works how you want it to

AN: **Naruto is six and half years old, about seven months have passed since the last chapter**

The Sandaime was sitting at his desk puffing on his pipe while he thought of the mess that had happened in the last six months. All of it concerned the boy that he thought of as an adopted grandson. After an incident in the forest concerning the Hyuuga heiress, rumors had spread from multiple sources that Naruto had actually attacked the heiress. This was fueled by the parents of the three academy students saying that their children had tried to stop Naruto from hurting the heiress and he put them in the hospital.

The rumors had gotten even worse when the Hyuuga clan refused to give any comment on what had occurred or an account from the Hyuuga heiress on what had happened. People easily believed the rumors and nearly the whole village thought that Naruto had attacked three children near the academy and the Hyuuga heiress was only spared because her escort arrived and scared the attacker away.

The Sandaime first had a meeting with Naruto about what had happened and knew the boy was telling the truth. Naruto had never lied to him and didn't lie in general. The Sandaime secretly believed that Naruto was keeping other secrets from him, specifically that he was being told classified information by his two guardians and knew more than he was supposed to, but that didn't matter with the current situation. He tried to having a meeting with the parents and three children but the children refused to speak during the meeting and the parents accused Naruto of attacking their children.

After that, he received numerous complaints from parents who were sending their children to the academy. They didn't want Naruto in the class or to attend the academy at all and were afraid that he would hurt their children. Just two weeks from the start of the knew academy year, (almost six months prior) he had received over one hundred complaints. The Hokage had to profile teachers to specifically find one that would be able to teach the class as the faculty at the academy had complained as well.

Only a week after Naruto had started the academy the Sandaime had received a petition to have Naruto expelled. The Sandaime had looked over the document, memorized the names, then promptly threw it in the nearby trash can. He had also thrown all of the complaints out as well and ignored any further attempts by civilians and ninja to try and get Naruto kicked out of the academy.

From the standpoint of the ninja clans, it was just as bad. Nearly every member of the ninja clan council had a son or daughter that would be attending class with Naruto. They wanted to know what happened but without anyone to back up Naruto's story, since the Hyuuga clan refused to comment, all the Sandaime had was the word of the Kyuubi container which no one trusted. Naruto's word had to stand up against all the rumors and the stories of the three bullies who were now viewed as heroes in the village for trying to protect the Hyuuga heiress. It also didn't help that no one of the ninja clan council, besides the Sandaime, had ever even seen or interacted with Uzumaki Naruto. They had never met him or possibly even seen what he looked like. (Naruto tends to stay away from crowded areas and most places in the village) Nearly the entire council were worried for their children and wanted to know if Naruto was dangerous.

The Hokage explained that only one complaint had been filed with the Uchiha Military Police. The parents of the three boys involved had filed a complaint against Naruto for assault. When the Sandaime suggested that they be interrogated, the parents were shocked and the children were scared stiff. The parents objected, but the Sandaime calmly responded that it was a ninja matter and that if a complaint was being filed then the children would have to be thoroughly questions. Since the Sandaime was in charge of Naruto's files and well being, he decided to choose someone from the ANBU Interrogation Division to do the questioning. The parents refused, and the matter was dropped.

The only person who didn't look worried at the clan meetings, except Danzo, was Hyuuga Hiashi. Most likely, this was because he knew what had really happened but he wouldn't say anything or let his daughter say anything. The Hyuuga clan would never support or help the container of the Kyuubi in any way. However, the clan never took a stance of not spreading more rumors about him. The Sandaime knew that probably only a select few members of Hyuuga clan knew what happened and they wouldn't say anything. The rest of the Hyuuga clan were merely outraged that their heiress had been attacked. Needless to say, the Sandaime hadn't been able to get along with Hiashi at all in the months that had passed.

The ninja council had also been asking questions about Naruto. They were questions that the Sandaime didn't want to answer and thankfully because he had sealed Naruto's files, he only had to give the barest amount of information. He fed them the impression that Naruto lived alone in an apartment and had for some time. The Sandaime stated that Naruto was merely defending himself from several bullies that attacked him and the reason that he managed to win was most likely due to the terrible academy grades and performances of the three students in question. He gave a few remarks about how Naruto must have gotten lucky and hinted that the boy had his own fair share of injuries. For the most part, the council bought the story but the Sandaime could tell that several were curious and thought he might be withholding information, but weren't about to say anything.

At some point, a few members of the Uchiha Military Police had actually tried to arrest Naruto because the parents of the three injured children had filed complaints against Naruto. The officers were unable to find Uzumaki Naruto and when they tried to arrest him when he went for his first day at the academy, they had been put in the hospital by an angry Shakky. At least that's what the Hokage believed as their were no witnesses to the beatings of the policemen but their injuries told the Sandaime exactly who had beaten them.

The Sandaime had once believed that Naruto might be able to find friends at the academy but after what happened, most of the students stayed away from Naruto. While the villagers hated him, the academy students were either afraid of him or didn't trust him at all. Their parents had most likely told them to stay away from Naruto because of how dangerous they thought he was. It didn't matter if it was civilian children or clan children. Naruto simply sat through class, he didn't say anything, ask any questions, or interact with anyone. If anything, the situation with Naruto hadn't changed at all, only the setting had changed, it moved from the village to the classroom.

The Sandaime could only sigh as he smoked his pipe. His plans for Naruto never worked out the way that he wanted them to.

x-x

Ninja Academy, right before lunch

x-x

Originally, Rayleigh had wanted Naruto to go to the academy at least two or three days a week but after what had happened, Naruto only went to the academy on Wednesday when he was supposed to be taking a break from training. On the other days of the week, Naruto would send his shadow clone to the academy.

Rayleigh had taught him the incredibly useful jutsu two weeks before Naruto had entered the academy. His sensei hadn't let him ever use more than one clone at a time but it was still a really useful jutsu. As sad and crazy as it may sound, Naruto sometimes used the jutsu so that he could have someone his age to talk to. He only did this when no one else was around but it was nice to have someone that had the exact same interests as you to talk with.

The academy wasn't really what Naruto had pictured that it would be. The current schedule, which wasn't likely to change, at least until the following year, was nearly all lessons that had little to do with being a ninja. They did work on reading and writing as well as math, geography, and history. These were not things that Naruto pictured when he thought of a ninja academy. The only thing that he found remotely interesting was when the teacher started talking about chakra but even then, it was all information that Naruto had already learned at one point. They had some physical activities but they were so easy that he never really bothered trying. The training and exercises that Rayleigh had him doing in the mornings of every day of the week were far more advanced then running around the academy grounds or doing basic exercises.

Naruto was surprised that all the students were so slow and not in any kind of physical shape. The only students that were doing better than the others were the ones from ninja clans that most likely had private training. Naruto never tried to stand out in class as he found no point to it, he didn't have to prove anything to these students, nor did he want to. Or more accurately, his shadow clones didn't have to prove anything to these students, nor did he want them to.

Six months of sitting in class, as he still received the memories from the shadow clones that sat in for him, hadn't really helped him at all. They were only just starting to work on learning how to use basic ninja weapons and working on a few basic taijutsu stances. They hadn't even started sparring with each other yet. It was like a nightmare and he was stuck here for six years!

'I really hate Wednesdays.' thought Naruto as he glanced out of the window at the trees in the yard. A moment later, he looked back to the book he had in his hands and continued reading. The reason that he looked out the window was because he was sure that a ninja was stationed right outside the classroom in the trees. He could feel their chakra. He was trying to get a glance at who might be there but the ninja was concealing himself or herself rather well. It was actually the first time that he had looked out the window because he didn't want them to know that he had spotted them. He waited until the wind blew hard enough to rustle the leaves and then looked. This wasn't the first time that a ninja had been stationed outside of the classroom. From what he could feel, it wasn't the same ninja everyday. He told the Sandaime about it but the old man told him not to worry as it was just a silly precaution that the council had demanded.

The book he was reading was in no way related to class but one was one the Legend of the Gutsy Ninja. He wasn't going to bother with paying attention to the teacher, that's what his shadow clones were for every other day of the week. Today was his break day and this was the last place that he wanted to be. The teacher really didn't care that he was reading during class, or that some lazy pineapple-haired kid was also asleep on the other side of the room.

Naruto was sitting by the window in the middle row of the class. Despite the class being full with the maximum amount of students the room was designed to hold, Naruto was sitting alone on the bench. The other two students that were supposed to be sitting next to him had quadrupled up on two other benches so they didn't have to sit near him. The girl named Hinata, that the village believes he attacked, was sitting on the other side of the room and surrounded by several students from ninja clans. Naruto knew it wasn't by accident as he could tell that they were forming some kind of barrier between him and her. They apparently believed that he was dangerous and posed some kind of threat towards the Hyuuga heiress.

He did notice that she gave glances his way and she looked rather sad and distraught. From what he had heard from Rayleigh and Shakky, the Hyuuga clan wouldn't back his story or provide any information about what happened at all. Because of her own group of 'guards', she had made several friends from the group of clan children. Despite the situation, Naruto found it incredible difficult to hate the girl sitting on the other side of the room. The mess he was in wasn't all that different from what he had experienced from the village for his whole life so it wasn't all that bad and he could handle it. Besides, he wasn't actually sure that she had anything to do with it. It was most likely her father that forbade her from telling anyone what actually happened. 'Just another reason to dislike that idiot.'

No one in the class would talk with him and the students mostly stayed out of his way or ignored him. A portion of the class was scared of him and stayed in numbers or crowded together when he was around. Even the teacher ignored him. The chunin instructor was named Funeno Daikoku and he never tried to get Naruto to interact in the lessons or include him in any way. Naruto believed that as long as he didn't do anything to attract any attention that he would most likely be left alone by the instructor.

It also helped that the man seemed overly fond of Uchiha Sasuke. The instructor doted on the Uchiha and praised him at every chance that he got. Naruto also noticed that the boy disliked being compared to his brother who was apparently a genius. The man also liked to bring up the fact that he had helped teach that genius brother. Naruto actually found it rather funny as he learned from Shakky that the boy that he taught didn't actually need any teaching and was in the academy for less than a year.

While it seemed that he was still reading the pages of his book, Naruto let his mind wander to his training. His Haki training had progressed to using both real and training weapons. While Rayleigh's seal was activated, Naruto demonstrated great ability to sense, predict, and dodge real weapons thrown by his sensei and Anko. Everything was completely different when the seal was deactivated though. Naruto compared the differences to reading a book alone in the park and trying to read the same book while multiple people were trying to talk to you and distract you from reading. It was very difficult.

While the seal was active, Naruto didn't have to worry about his other senses and what they told him, he payed attention to sensing the life-force of the people around him and predicting what they were going to do. When the seal was inactive, he could see, hear, and smell them and also he could see the deadly projectiles they were throwing at him. The extra inputs played havoc on his sensing ability as he easily became distracted and had difficulty focusing on. He still dodged the weapons but it was more out of self preservation then predicting where they were coming from, where they were going, and what he needed to do to dodge them.

Rayleigh kept commenting that it was normal but the whole situation completely frustrated Naruto. Since then, they had moved on to the second form of Haki which was the color of armaments. They started with offense and Naruto tried to add Haki to his punches and kicks while practicing on a training log. Rayleigh had informed him that it was usually easier to use a palm thrust because the palm was larger and could channel and expel more Haki for an attack. Naruto was also trying to imbue Haki into weapons like kunai, shuriken, and practice swords with limited success. For defense, Anko took great pleasure in smacking Naruto with bamboo training swords. The goal was for him to harden his body to defend himself, in which case the sword would break on him and he wouldn't feel any pain. He also had limited success with that aspect of his training and he had the painful welts and bruises to prove it.

His other training had been increasing at a steady pace. He sparred with taijutsu and with swords with Rayleigh's water clones. He hadn't been able to use much of the information in Zoro's memoirs since he was so busy with Rayleigh's training but he didn't mind very much. He would have plenty of time to learn how to use Santoryu later. Naruto still couldn't believe that he only had another six months left to train with Rayleigh. It was depressing at best and he tried not to think about it because the inevitable death of his sensei and father figure was still overwhelming for him.

Training with Shakky had changed to include genjutsu and hypnosis training. She wasn't trying to teach Naruto how to use these techniques but rather how to not be caught by them and resist them. Shakky found that because Naruto periodically spun his chakra when he wasn't doing anything that most of the low level genjutsu had no effect on him. He just shrugged them off. At first Shakky didn't know what was going on but then she realized what Naruto was doing with his chakra. Naruto had practiced that exercise for years and did it without realizing that he was doing anything out of the ordinary. He would spin his chakra one direction and tighten or loosen the spiral and he also periodically switch directions of the spin.

Lower level genjutsu were actually disrupted by this chaotic movement of chakra but anything that was B-rank or higher would still work without problems. Shakky found it difficult to cast genjutsu of C-rank but still possible and found that D-rank just didn't work at all. It didn't really change the training but meant that Shakky worked with more powerful genjutsu. She did have several B-rank genjutsu and even one A-rank. The goal wasn't for Naruto to dispel the genjutsu but to 'see through' it with his eyes. It was possible to train the eyes until they could pierce genjutsu similar to what a dojutsu was capable of.

As for hypnosis, there were several jutsu that used hypnosis or had hypnotic effect and she was using those on Naruto. He would try to break the hypnosis or suggestion with his own willpower while she was attempting to hypnotize him. It was rather difficult and Naruto was sure that by Shakky's smile, that she had hypnotized him at some point, possibly more than once, and gotten him to do something embarrassing, then taken pictures of it.

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by the lunch bell ringing. As students filed out of the room, he let them pass before he finally got up to leave. Usually he would go up to the top of the building to eat his lunch because no one else went up there for lunch.

x-x

Uzumaki Estate, several days later

x-x

Naruto was about to make his shadow clone for the academy and then head out for the training ground when he was stopped by Rayleigh. They had been up for a while and already eaten breakfast before Naruto did his morning training before the academy even started.

"I was thinking we would do something different today." stated Rayleigh and Naruto was curious as to what he meant.

"Instead of doing the same Haki training we normally do, how about we take a break and do something more interesting or fun?" suggested Rayleigh.

"Why?" asked Naruto and it wasn't an accusation but he wanted to know why his sensei would want to change from the schedule.

"You've been making some progress in your training but you've been getting rather frustrated lately. I don't think your making the progress that you think you should be making and it might be best to take a short break or lighten up the training by adding something else in to the mix." said Rayleigh.

Naruto thought about it and asked, "What else would we do?"

Rayleigh smiled at the question and answered, "I was thinking that I would teach you anything that you wanted. Within reason of course. It can't be anything too physical that requires a great deal of activity from me but it can be anything you want."

Naruto went through his memories and made a list of everything he had learned, what hadn't he learned, what had he heard about, and tried to decide what he would want to learn from that list. The list was quite long and he narrowed it down. He didn't necessarily need to learn kenjutsu right now as he had a whole book on it written by a master swordsman and Rayleigh already said he was rather rusty at kenjutsu. Ninjutsu was something that he wanted to learn but he didn't know if he had time to learn his element and all the flashy ninjutsu that he wanted to be able to use. Fuinjutsu was also on the list as it was something that both sensei and student enjoyed. Naruto liked looking through the examples of Uzumaki fuinjutsu that Rayleigh had and seeing what others had done before him. He did want to be able to invent his own fuinjutsu one day.

The more he thought about it, the more he started leaning towards fuinjutsu because it didn't involve anything physically demanding on Rayleigh's part and his sensei enjoyed teaching him the sealing arts just as much as Naruto liked learning. The question came down to what did he want to learn. Naruto could ask to learn anything but time was relatively short. 'Was there something about fuinjutsu that I wanted to learn or maybe a specific seal?' thought Naruto and an idea popped into his head. It was something that he wanted to learn as it was a seal that was specific to him.

"Would you teach about my seal that holds back the Kyuubi?" asked Naruto in a serious voice. Rayleigh's eyes widened at the request as he had been expecting ninjutsu or kenjutsu. He certainly hadn't expected Naruto to ask about one of the most powerful seals that the Uzumaki clan had created but it made sense as it was a seal that had changed the boy's whole life.

'It might take a while and I need to teach Naruto other things before he will be able to grasp all that his seal is and what it does.' thought Rayleigh and he smiled. 'It's definitely going to be a challenge but it might be best if he knows more about that seal. I don't know exactly what the future will hold but it might be a good idea for him to learn the four symbols seal and the eight trigrams sealing style.'

"Alright, before we begin do you have any questions about the seal?" asked Rayleigh and Naruto smiled while he thought about what he wanted to know before Rayleigh started with a lecture. He could tell that Rayleigh was happy about the topic and Naruto knew he would enjoy it too.

x-x

Dango restaurant, a few days later

x-x

Naruto just stared across the table as he watched Anko finish off another plate of dango for lunch. He had been trying to eat his own plate but he just didn't have the appetite. Rayleigh was busy with preparing Naruto's knew training regiment and the elder Uzumaki seemed to take great joy in it. However, Naruto's thoughts were more on the academy. Despite that he only really went once a week, he still didn't like going there or receiving the memories of his shadow clones being there. He mostly stayed away from villagers but he was forced to be in the academy.

"You know, your brooding is really affecting how my dango tastes." stated Anko as she tried to enjoy her favorite food.

"Sorry, I guess I'll try to act happy from now on, so it doesn't affect the taste of your dango." replied Naruto sarcastically and he took out one of his books and began reading.

Anko just rolled her eyes but she was concerned. "Its not really that bad. So none of the academy students really like you. So what! They didn't like me that much either. Jealous, everyone of them, of my great skills and good looks." stated Anko while shaking her head.

"Its not just that they don't like me, they don't want anything to do with me and some are even afraid of me." said Naruto.

"So whats wrong with it. Lots of people are afraid of me, its great! Here comes one of them now, watch this." said Anko in a hushed voice.

A man entered into the restaurant and gave a mere glance around the room. No sooner than he had done so then Anko said, "HEY! What are you looking at!" The man looked around bewildered and came face to face with Anko. He tried to say same something but only a stuttered mess of words came out, then he ran out of the restaurant when he saw Anko getting angry.

"Hahahahahah...that was great. See, its not so bad having people afraid of you." said Anko with smile.

"I guess the problem is that I'm just not you." said Naruto as he shook his head at Anko's idea of fun.

"Yeah, that's everybody's problem. They just can't be as great as me." Anko said with a rueful smile.

That garnered a small smile from Naruto and he put his book away. "So I hear you got promoted to special jonin?"

"How'd you find out about that! I just found out about it this morning and its my promotion!" said Anko with curiosity and surprise.

"A little bird told me." stated Naruto without giving away anything. That was usually what he said when it was something that Shakky had told him and few people knew that. Anko was one of those people and she wondered how an old woman, albeit she didn't look like an old woman, twenty miles away from Konoha was able to find out about her promotion before she did.

Anko, however, didn't know that Shakky had a summoning contract with birds so it was understandable that she was rather curious how Shakky seemed to be so informed about certain things.

"Well, since I did get promoted and its such a special occasion..." Anko said while leaning forward towards Naruto and accentuated her bust. Naruto eyes diverted from his book. He was still a young child but that didn't mean that he wasn't curious and easily distracted. He barely heard Anko complete her sentence. "...you can pay for the meal." and with that she ran out of the dango shop.

Naruto sat for a moment before he put together what she said and thought, 'Damn, she got me again. I really have to stop falling for that. It doesn't help that Rayleigh falls for it too.' He then pulled out his money and payed for the meal.

x-x

Uzumaki Estate, Six Months Later

x-x

Naruto stood outside of the room and stared at the empty bed. It was Rayleigh's room in the house and it wasn't being occupied at the moment or for the past week. Rayleigh had been bedridden for the past month and had been moved the hospital the previous week. Naruto was getting ready to go visit when he stopped outside of his sensei's door. 'Rayleigh isn't going to ever come back here.' he thought sadly.

Naruto's training was sort of on hold for the moment. Rayleigh had managed to teach Naruto everything that he knew about the seal on his stomach in just six months which was an incredible accomplishment for one as young as Naruto; to be able to use the four symbols seal and perform the eight trigrams sealing style. Rayleigh was very proud and was glad that they could spend time on something that was interesting for both and wasn't so frustrating for Naruto as his Haki training.

The Haki training hadn't been nearly as fortuitous. Naruto had been able to use the color of armaments but only sparingly. Sometimes when he tried to harden his body for protection and tried to attack with Haki, nothing happened. Other times he managed to attack or defend but it wasn't powerful or very protective.

Trying the learn the color of the conquering king was even more difficult. Since he was having trouble even channeling his Haki, then releasing it in a large burst was out of the question at this point in time. Rayleigh had said that it usually happened under extreme stress or in a dangerous situation and it wasn't something that you could train to achieve. With more real life experience in stressful and dangerous situations then it might be possible for Naruto to release his Haki. Neither mentioned anything about the fact that Naruto might not even have the ability to use the final aspect of Haki.

Naruto had tried to replicate these situations to release his Haki by traveling into the Forest of Death but he had no success so far. He mostly just spent his time running away from the giant tigers that really couldn't forget a grudge. Rayleigh was confident that Naruto would eventually get it. Once Naruto was able to release his Haki, then he would be able to fully utilize the training that Rayleigh had for improving the ability.

Naruto had kept up with his physical training but he hadn't done any Haki training since Rayleigh had been bedridden. It just didn't seem right to be training without his sensei being there. He heard Shakky calling him from downstairs so he left Rayleigh's bedroom and headed to the first floor.

x-x

Shakky lead Naruto on a less traveled path to the Konoha Hospital. She knew that Naruto didn't want to be dealing with the villagers today. They took a back entrance to the building and the stairs up to Rayleigh's hospital room. They avoided the elevator and nearly everyone else in the building. Naruto had already developed a distaste for hospitals in the week that he had been visiting Rayleigh here.

The day until Rayleigh's death had slowly approaching and the closer it got, the more accurate Rayleigh was until he knew the exact day and time. The exact day was this current day and the exact time was not far off. Naruto couldn't shake the feeling of dread as they neared Rayleigh's room. His chest felt like someone was squeezing it and his entire body felt tense. He knew his sensei was still alive and he could feel his chakra but it was far lower then he had every felt it. By the end of today, Rayleigh would no longer be among the living and Naruto didn't want to believe it or accept it.

The Sandaime was sitting outside the room on a nearby bench and Anko was leaning against the wall a short distance down the hallway. The Sandaime looked sad and Naruto couldn't see Anko's face as she had it tilted down so her bangs covered her eyes. Naruto sat next to the Hokage as Shakky went in to talk with Rayleigh alone. It was sort of a last time to visit for each and whatever they were going to talk about was private. After Shakky was done, Naruto would visit. The Sandaime and Anko had evidently already spoken with Rayleigh.

x-x

Shakky walked into the hospital room and her eyes and Rayleigh's met. They didn't exchange words at the moment as the two had known each other for so long and been through so much that they just didn't need them to express certain things. Rayleigh smiled and Shakky returned it.

The silence was broken between the two when Rayleigh spoke, "We've been through a lot together haven't we?" Shakky smiled at this and replied, "I suppose we have. I never thought we'd end up raising a child together." Rayleigh laughed at this but had to stop when he started coughing.

Rayleigh responded a moment later, "No, I really didn't either. How do you think he'll turn out?"

"Better than if he we didn't raise him. He's going to have some rough times ahead, especially right now. I expect him to take your death rather hard and I don't think he'll recover anytime soon. I'm not really sure that this village is the best place for him right now with all that's happened and happening. I think he might need a break." said Shakky sadly.

With Rayleigh's impending death, both guardians could tell how strongly it would affect Naruto and how strongly it had already affected him. With the current problems that he has been having with the academy and the village in general, they could tell that Naruto would either try run away from the village, lash out at someone, or have some kind of breakdown. None of which were very good options.

A person could only put up with so much and Naruto was the kind of person to bottle those things up. They really didn't want him taking his frustrations out on the ignorant villagers, running away, or having some kind of mental breakdown. The fact that Naruto was a Jinchuuriki only made things even worse.

The only places that Naruto had that were sanctuaries for him in the village were the training ground and the house, both of which were heavily associated with Rayleigh, and also Ichiraku Ramen Shop that they frequented. Once Rayleigh was gone, Naruto may no longer feel safe and comfortable in those same places, meaning that there was no where left in the village for him.

Rayleigh sighed and said, "Yes, I was speaking a little bit about that with Sarutobi-san. I tried to work something out but the most I could get was an early graduation from the academy. Unfortunately I don't think that would do any good because I doubt the Sandaime would give him missions outside the village until he was much older."

"You've been busy. How exactly did you manage an early graduation?" asked Shakky.

"Well I am a dying man, who does have a last wish for his adopted grandson. It's a terribly sad story and Sarutobi-san does seem to fall for those." stated Rayleigh in a dramatic over-the-top tone and both laughed at the Sandaime's expense at being swindled.

"Fufufufu...while you've been doing that I already found a way for him to take a 'vacation' from the village." stated Shakky and Rayleigh looked rather interested.

"So you managed to find somewhere that the Sandaime might approve of him going for a while and take a break from the village? Where?" questioned Rayleigh.

"The Fire Temple. He can stay there for a couple of years. It's close to my bar and he can visit me. Its also a peaceful place where he can take a break from Konoha." stated Shakky.

"How in the world did you manage to get him into the Fire Temple? They only accept future monks and wouldn't just take in anyone that wanted to go there, especially if they weren't planning to become a monk or stay." said a confused Rayleigh.

Shakky gave a small smirk and shrugged. "Let's just say a little bird told me a story about one of the elder monks and it won't be a problem getting Naruto entrance into the temple or letting him stay there for a while."

Rayleigh sweat-dropped as he realized what Shakky was actually saying. She used her summons to spy on the temple monks and managed to get some blackmail material on one of them. Now she was going to use that information to get Naruto admittance into the temple.

"Well...as long as you've got it all worked out." said Rayleigh and Shakky's smirk widened.

A short silence ensued between the two and it was broken again when Rayleigh spoke, "Did you ever find that item you were looking for?".

Shakky gave a sad smile and said, "Not yet but I'm getting much closer. Its changed hands many times and probably being kept in some rich person's private collection, so its been difficult to track down."

Rayleigh nodded. Shakky had been looking for a specific item for many decades. It had belonged to their teammate Shanks but was taken off him when he died. Since then Shakky had created an entire information network in order to track it down. It was difficult as it was lost during war-time and probably exchanged hands more than once during the second and possible third shinobi war.

After the fall of Uzushiogakure, she also used that same network to look for looted Uzumaki and Uzushio artifacts, scrolls, and other items. She found many different items but not the one that she wanted to find the most.

"I know you'll find it, your too stubborn not to." said Rayleigh.

Shakky walked over to the bed and kissed Rayleigh on the forehead. On the way out she said, "We won't be separated for too long."

Rayleigh smiled and added, "Then I won't have to wait long to see you again."

x-x

It was Naruto's turn to talk with Rayleigh, or more exactly, to say goodbye. As he walked into the room, he was a jumble of thoughts and emotions. He didn't know what to say and he had never felt more helpless. Rayleigh was sitting on the bed with monitors hooked up to him showing his vitals and smiled at Naruto as he entered. Naruto wanted to smile back but a very sad smile was all he could manage. He was actually thankful that the mask hid his face.

Rayleigh decided to break the silence between them as Naruto sat in a nearby chair, "Did you know that when you born, I didn't even know you existed?" when Naruto shook his head, Rayleigh continued, "Seven years ago I came to the village to find out what had happened but I had no idea that your mother had even been pregnant. When I did find out about you, I had found myself with a choice. I could either let you grow up in the orphanage and continue my retirement, or try and raise you in a 'hostile environment' as best as I could. At the time, I was one hundred eight years old and I had a good idea how much time I still had left. I was far past any age for someone to be raising a child. I knew all that at the time but made my decision anyway. That was probably one of the crazy things that I ever did. At the end of these seven years I can honestly say that they were some of the most fulfilling and probably some of the best years of my life. Even though I'm not your real parent, your the closest that I've ever had to a son and I'm very proud of you. I know your parents would be too.

I've had many regrets in my life but you've never been one of them. Obviously I won't be around to finish your training and I knew that when I started but I've written everything else down that I wanted to teach you. I'm positive that you'll be able to finish your training on your own. And I know you'll surpass everyone that has come before you in our clan."

Naruto sat in the chair and listened intently to everything that Rayleigh said. At some part during the speech he had started crying and at the end he had gotten up from the chair and hugged Rayleigh while the elder lay in the hospital bed. Rayleigh hugged Naruto back and then stayed like that for a while. Naruto said several things to Rayleigh that were mostly drown out by his sobbing but Rayleigh understood exactly what he was trying to say.

Eventually Shakky came in and pulled Naruto off of Rayleigh and they left the room together. Neither guardian really wanted Naruto to be in the room when Rayleigh passed away. Sometimes people wanted to die surrounded by friends and relatives but they both thought it would be too much for Naruto to handle. With his good memory, he would probably remember that moment for the rest of his life and they thought it would haunt him. Rayleigh was content with knowing that he had no regrets and had talked to everyone that he cared for.

Minutes later while Naruto and Shakky were leaving the building, Naruto could feel Rayleigh's chakra signature fading, then it disappeared, and Naruto knew that Rayleigh was gone. Naruto wasn't sure why but he had the impression that Rayleigh was smiling when he died. It wasn't a sad smile either, but that of a man leaving one adventure and embarking on another.

x-x

Roof of the Hokage Tower, three days later

x-x

A gathering of people were standing on top of the Hokage tower. They were all wearing black. In front of them was a small stand with an urn of ashes and a picture of Rayleigh. The elder Uzumaki had asked to be cremated instead of buried.

Before he had passed away, he sent notice of his passing to those that might want to attend his funeral. Several people had arrived before Rayleigh passed and talked to him. Samurai from Iron Country had arrived nearly a week before and stayed in Konoha. Many different people had showed up that Naruto had never even heard mention of from Rayleigh while others he had heard of in Rayleigh's stories and not had a face to put with the story. Most were individuals that Rayleigh had come across during his travels after the fall of Uzushiogakure.

Naruto was standing at the front of the gathering along with Shakky, Anko, and the Sandaime. The sky was cloudy but the sun was still out. It had started raining lightly ever since the funeral started. Naruto was glad for the rain but wished it was heavier, that way it would hide the tears streaming down his face. It was apparently not fit to cry at shinobi funerals. Shakky told him that Rayleigh wouldn't have cared which did make him feel better. Naruto felt rather terrible and there were moments when he thought perhaps his Haki training seal was activated but it wasn't. It felt like a part of him was missing.

Naruto had been taking Rayleigh's death incredibly hard and hadn't even gone to academy since before his death, or to be more precise, he hadn't sent a shadow clone to go to the academy. Naruto also had trouble with being in the house as everything seemed to remind him of Rayleigh and all the memories they had together. Shakky had been staying there so that Naruto wouldn't have to be in the house all alone.

The Sandaime was hesitant to have Naruto stay there by himself because Rayleigh was always careful to make sure that no one ever found out where Naruto was staying and he didn't want anyone to know that Naruto was staying in the former home of the Yondaime. After his death, most of the fuinjutsu that Rayleigh had placed to protect the house had stopped working. Of course only a few people knew that was the Yondaime's home but it was still a chance.

Both the Sandaime and Shakky were very worried about him and Shakky had already proposed her plan to the Hokage. The Sandaime wanted Naruto to stay in the village but he could see how much the boy was hurting and how it didn't seem that he would get better, so he agreed to Shakky's plan. He already received notice from the chunin teacher that Naruto hadn't shown up at the academy for around a week.

Rayleigh had also wanted Naruto to take the graduation exam and despite the Sandaime's hesitance he had scheduled the exam. The Hokage still wanted Naruto to be placed on a team but wasn't sure how it would work out. Nearly all of the students wanted nothing to do with Naruto and those feelings weren't confined to his class but were shared by all the students in the academy. Since they had two or three years to worry about that, he would work things out and once Naruto came back from the Fire Temple.

The Sandaime had looked into getting Naruto a therapist, counseling, or at least someone to talk with and to perform an evaluation of his mental state but it was difficult to find someone. Naruto was practically a walking village secret and anything that he would talk about would essentially be secrets of the village. No one was supposed to know that Naruto was being taken care of by anyone because of the councils decision on the matter when he was born. Naruto was supposed to be in the orphanage and then be placed in an apartment but that isn't what happened. Therefore it was difficult to find someone that Naruto could talk to that had clearance for those secrets and could be trusted to keep them.

Shakky had informed the Hokage that one of the elder monks at the Fire Temple had some experience with counseling others and had experience working with ninja. The Sandaime wasn't exactly sure why Shakky knew such information but he was welcome to the suggestion. A monk of the Fire Temple would be preferred as they wouldn't know any of the finer details of Naruto's situation and the secrets that the boy had.

x-x

Ichiraku's Ramen, a week later

x-x

Naruto had passed the private genin exam and Shakky had taken him out to celebrate for ramen. The Sandaime wasn't able to as he had village problems to deal with and Anko was on a mission. However it really wasn't much of a celebration as Naruto was still depressed about Rayleigh's death and even graduating from the academy wasn't going to lift his spirits any. He was starting to regain his appetite that he had lost when Rayleigh passed away. Naruto left his Konoha hitai-ate at home as the Sandaime didn't want anyone to see him wearing it in the village as it would raise many questions. Naruto had tried it on for size but he just wasn't very excited about it and he hadn't been very excited about anything recently.

Shakky disliked seeing her Naruto-chan look so sad and tried to cheer him up with little success. She taught him a new jutsu, one that she had 'acquired' from Suna. Naruto had been interested in learning the chakra strings technique and had working with it for the past week. Shakky had taken over working on Naruto's training. Naruto had been rather appreciative of his Bachan's attempts to cheer him up. He also liked seemingly levitating objects with chakra strings and making things move around. He was still a kid after all.

Ayame and Teuchi had also tried to cheer him up but they had limited success. Naruto enjoyed the meal though, and left a large tip when they exited the ramen stand. Both Ichiraku bid them goodbye as they exited. Before they had gotten too far, Naruto overheard what some nearby people were talking about and Shakky wished that he hadn't heard it.

"Hey did you wanna get some ramen?" asked one of the voices. Another voice responded, "No way, the Kyuubi-brat eats there."

It was a simple exchange but it had a profound effect on Naruto. 'I'm hurting their business.' he thought in shock as he continued to walk down the street. Memories surfaced of times when he and Rayleigh had gone to eat ramen and no one else was there. He remember when Ayame talked about becoming a great chef and learning to make all sorts of dishes. It was her dream. 'All they have is that ramen stand and I'm destroying their business by eating there.' he realized. They were probably getting by but how long would that last. 'They've always been kind to me and never turned me away. Just how much has that cost them?' he thought sadly.

Shakky for her part watched Naruto react to what he had overheard. He seemed to be deep in thought and going over memories. 'Sometimes having an excellent memory can be more of a curse than a gift.' she thought as she watched Naruto come to his conclusions. He seemed even more depressed now and she could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes. His eyes themselves looked rather vacant and empty.

'Perhaps we'll leave a little earlier than I originally planned.' she thought and placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder while guiding the crying boy home. The left the following morning.

x-x

Outside of Crater City, Shakky's Rip-off Bar, a few days later

x-x

Naruto's eyes once again roamed the building that he was in. He examined nearly every inch of the place. This was actually the first time he had been farther than the training grounds away from Konoha and the first time he had visited another village. It was also the first time that he finally got to see Shakky's bar that he had heard so much about and he was taking everything in.

Shakky watched the boy with a small smirk as she finished her cigarette. It was nice to see him not so depressed and interested in something. On the walk to her bar, Naruto didn't even say a word and she could tell that he was lost in thought. No one, besides the Sandaime, actually knew that Naruto was no longer in the village. The teacher and students at the academy knew that he hadn't been to class but that was all.

Before Naruto was to go to the Fire Temple, there were several things that she needed to talk with him about. Shakky had to go over Rayleigh's will, as she was the self-appointed executor of his will. Rayleigh had wanted his ashes to be buried back in Uzushio next to the ashes of their teammate and that would also have to be taken care of. The problem with Ichiraku's also had to be discussed. Shakky wasn't just going to leave the situation as it was. Naruto felt rather horrible that he had been hurting the business and livelihood of people that had always been so kind to him. While Shakky couldn't reverse what had happened and what Naruto had overheard, she could help him do something about the ramen stand and help those that had been so kind to Naruto. She also felt it would help ease Naruto's depression.

Her hope was that if she could keep Naruto busy then it would keep his mind off of the problems, stress, and loss. Right now, the only thing that Naruto needed was a short separation from Konoha and time to recover. The village had slowly worn him down but Rayleigh's death and the problems with the ramen stand had made the situation far worse then it had been. The only thing that Shakky wanted was the smiling exuberant boy that Naruto once was to come back. She hated seeing him like this.

Shakky never did manage to think up a good story for why Naruto was going to be away from the village. She and the Sandaime had both figured that someone from the ninja council would start asking because they have children at the academy in the same class as Naruto. Another possibility was that the teachers would ask or rumors would start spreading around the village. It was hard not to notice a prolonged absence, especially for such an infamous student such as Naruto.

At the moment, his absence was being explained by an illness but that would only hold up for so long. With Naruto being who he was, it was only a matter of time before someone got nosy and wanted to know what had happened to him. Of course what Shakky hadn't planned for was that sometimes a large and shocking event with lasting affects will overshadow other smaller concerns and things that shouldn't be overlooked, are overlooked.

Even with an incredible intuition, Shakky wasn't able to predict that the following week, almost the entire Uchiha clan would be massacred in a single night.

Please Review

(AN: Naruto's ability to use Haki is not as good as Luffy's because he has yet to actually release his Haki at any given point. Since Luffy had been able to do that, he had a distinct advantage and Naruto must learn the hard way. Naruto will eventually release his Haki in one large burst but that won't be for several chapters and under certain circumstances.)


	12. Chapter 12

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

Poll Results:

Suijin, suggested by Vongola Melstrom - 12 Votes

Getsuei Gogyou, suggested by Vongola Melstrom - 9 Votes

Soudai Uzumaki Kirite, suggested by VLS - 6 Votes

Son Ame Ao, suggested by Raidentensho - 6 Votes

I think I'll keep the poll up until I post the next chapter. Thank you to the people who voted and those who provided the sword names.

I've also posted another fanfiction, please take a look if you'd be interested in a Naruto/Star Wars crossover. The updating on that fanfiction might not be as fast as this one though.

x-x

Chapter XII: What we do for others

AN: Naruto is just over seven years old, a continuation of the previous chapter

Crater City, Shakky's Rip-off Bar, a week after the funeral

x-x

"Rayleigh owned an island?" shouted a wide-eyed Naruto as Shakky went over Rayleigh's will and holding with him.

"Fufufufufu...Naruto-chan, where did you think Ray-san spent his retirement? A retirement home?" Shakky questioned with a smile. Naruto's reactions could be so comical and it was nice to see him not so moody and depressed. Few people, if any at all, were able to own or retired on a private island but Rayleigh wasn't ever just an ordinary person.

Naruto continued to look through the will until he came upon something else, "He owned a boat too!" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"What did you think he used to get to his island? Fufufufufu...you weren't thinking that he swam over a hundred miles across the open ocean, were you?"

"Well..." Naruto started to say as he had easily imagined his sensei swimming across a sea king infested ocean. For some reason the ocean had become infested with sea kings of varying sizes in his imagination. It wasn't really that hard to imagine Rayleigh swimming that far across the ocean but he did pity the sea kings. He could even imagine his sensei water walking across the entire distance over the ocean. Rayleigh was whistling a tune while casually walking across the ocean with ship passing by in the distance. Those thoughts were rather comical and brought a smile a his face.

Shakky shook her as she watched Naruto get lost in his imagination. She was happy that he was smiling as it had been several weeks since she had last seen him smile. They were sitting at one of the tables in her bar going over Rayleigh's will and all of the other documents that she had. Once Naruto came back to reality he asked, "Where's Rayleigh's boat?"

"I believe..." Shakky said shifting through some papers on the table and finding the one that she wanted, "..that it's docked in wave country" she confirmed and handed him the paper so he could look at it. Naruto had started thinking about a really large yacht but once he saw the description of the boat, he gave another small smile. The boat wasn't anywhere near as large as he was thinking. It was just large enough for a single person to use and maintain. 'Exactly how Rayleigh would have wanted it.' he thought and felt rather silly at his earlier thought about the boat.

"Now we need to talk about money." stated Shakky in a very serious tone. Money and information were never things that she would joke about. "Rayleigh left you some money and he felt that you could do whatever you wanted with it. If you wanted, you could help out the Ichiraku's. I know you feel that you've wronged them and that they deserve better. Rayleigh left you enough to help them out and repay their years of kindness." said Shakky.

Naruto thought about this. While he desperately wanted to do something for the Ichiraku's he was hesitant to use the money that Rayleigh had left him. It seemed wrong in some way to spend or even touch that money as it was something that Rayleigh had saved up.

"I don't think I want to use that money. Is there anything else I can do to get enough money?" asked Naruto and Shakky's face turned into a large smirk.

"Normally there wouldn't be anything you could do..." she started and Naruto was about to sigh when she continued, "...however I really don't tend to use 'normal methods' and there are definitely ways that I can think of."

"Are they legal?" asked Naruto hesitantly as he wasn't sure exactly what Shakky had in mind.

"Legal? Maybe. You seem to be forgetting that your a Konoha ninja and by law your now an adult." said a smirking Shakky as she pulled out Naruto's Konoha hitai-ate from her inner coat pocket.

x-x

The first phase of Shakky's plan consisted of making a good amount of money rather quickly. A saying goes that you have to 'spend money to make money', however Naruto first needed to get the money that he intend to spend in order to make more money.

In order to make the initial money, Shakky proposed that Naruto use his ninja status to his advantage. While most ninja missions were done through the Hokage, there were several circumstances where a ninja of Konoha could accept a mission or take money for performing a tasks and not go through the Hokage or the village for that matter. This exclusively happened when the ninja was away from the village and usually while still in Fire Country. The client could ask the ninja they hired to perform additional tasks and therefore get payed more or even take on a separate mission entirely. Or someone else (a different client) could contract the ninja for a mission after the original mission was finished.

There were several rules and regulations to follow for contracting oneself out for this type of work but mostly it just dealt with proper reporting and making sure that the village got its fair share of the money from the contracting. Konoha didn't want their ninja performing unsanctioned missions for personal gain but it was perfectly fine if the village received its share of the money and the proper paperwork was filled out.

Naruto was in a unique situation because he was considered a ninja of Konoha (Academy students weren't made full genin until they passed the exam the special exam by a jonin or special jonin and were placed on a team, so Naruto is technically probationary genin), he was outside of the village but still in Fire Country, and he currently wasn't on a mission. Thus he could technically contract himself out to anyone who wanted to hire him. As long as he filled out the paperwork and Konoha received its share of the mission money then Naruto could perform however many missions that he wanted.

While Naruto didn't know where he would be able to find anyone that would want to hire him, Shakky had many connections that Naruto didn't. She knew who needed some help on what would be considered D-rank missions and even C-rank missions in the nearby area. D-rank missions would be exactly the same as in Konoha for Naruto but the C-ranks could be more challenging for him.

The ninja forces of Konoha patrolled many areas in Fire Country but concentrated around the borders and Konoha itself. The Fire Daimyo had the Twelve Guardians to protect himself and the Fire Country capital was well protected by the Fire Daimyo's personal forces. Unfortunately this left many areas of the country, specifically the southern and eastern areas, not as well protected from other threats such as bandits, gangs, criminals, ninja academy dropouts, and even lower level missing-nin. Most of these types of missions never went above C-rank.

Some areas such as Tanzaku Gai relied on being close to Konoha and having a large wall surrounding the town to protect from any problems. Other towns, farther to the south and east of Konoha weren't that fortunate. Despite having thousands of Ninja, Konoha had priorities to patrol the borders and far too many missions while not enough ninja to actually fill them all. The village prioritized which missions were better for the village, those being the higher ranked missions which were B-rank and above. This left many C-ranks missions which sat around in the mission room until they could be filled by a genin squad or perhaps a higher ranking ninja.

Crater City, on the outskirts of which is where Shakky's bar is located, was a small town but was rather busy and there was the opportunity for many D-rank missions. Despite being so close to Konoha, few patrols or ninja ever came to the town. It was occasionally a hot-spot for criminal activity and many of those criminals had wanted posters or rewards for capture. It was also a traveling spot to get to the larger towns and even Konoha so there was also the possibility of escort missions. This presented a good opportunity for C-rank missions for Naruto. Of course, Shakky had a very good ear for who was around town that was a wanted person and who might need help for a mission. It could take a very long time to contract shinobi from Konoha but if a Konoha ninja was already in the area then they wouldn't have to wait.

Shakky would help Naruto find these missions, while getting a small percentage of the mission fee for herself, and splitting the rest between Naruto and Konoha. All Shakky had to do was fill out the paperwork and send it to the Hokage and Naruto would actually get credit for any missions that he took, despite not being part of a genin squad. Shakky wasn't sure how the Hokage would take it but she planned on giving him some story about how Naruto started helping people around the town and seemed to always find trouble. It wasn't a very good story but it would work out. She planned on Naruto doing this kind of work for a couple of months until he managed to get enough money for phase two of her plan. During that time, she would also be able to keep training him.

x-x

Otafuku Gai, Two months later

x-x

Naruto sipped his tea as he once again checked the bar across the street. He was currently in a small restaurant and just finished eating a lunch. For the pat two months he had been taking the missions that Shakky had found for him. In the past two months he had completed around twenty C-rank missions and over fifty D-rank missions for various people. He mostly used shadow clones for the D-ranks as they mostly included manual labor in Crater City and shadow clones could do those jobs just as well as he could while also perform multiple missions at once.

The C-ranks varied widely from simple delivery of packages or 'sensitive' information, escorting merchants and travelers, and dealing with thugs, gangs, bandits, and general criminals. The majority of the money that Naruto made came from cashing in bounties at one of the bounty stations in Fire Country. There were several bounty stations all across the country but he only went to one of them which was the only station that took live prisoners.

Naruto just hadn't been able to kill any of the bounties that he captured and bring back the heads. It wasn't something that he wanted to do and the idea made him sick to his stomach. Only a few of the people he tried to capture every actually died and those deaths weren't really his fault. One of them accidentally fell on his own kunai, another killed himself rather than being caught, and a third was already dead of unknown causes when Naruto found him. He still had yet to make his first kill and he really wasn't looking forward to it.

Shakky had told him that if he was going to be a ninja then it would be inevitable. At some point or another he would have to take the life or lives of others in the course of his duty or to protect others. Naruto didn't really know how to feel about that. In One Piece, few of the characters ever killed. They merely beat the crap out of their enemy or left them nearly dead. Shakky said that as the enemies that he faced got stronger and smarter, incapacitating his enemy would no longer be an option as it would be a kill or be killed situation.

The reason that he was at the restaurant and watching the bar was that a small group of bandits were currently inside. Naruto had learned the hard way not to just walk right inside and start a fight inside the bar. Everything winds up getting trashed and the owner makes him pay for it. He already had Konoha taking a percentage of his earnings and Shakky taking her required twenty percent as his manager.

Naruto had wondered why he was supposed to give her twenty percent but Shakky was really good at finding missions for him. Also she mentioned that she was giving him a discount from what she would charge anyone else for the same service. Naruto decided not to make it an issue after that and let his Baa-chan have the twenty percent.

Naruto had no idea when the bandits would come out of the bar, especially since it was barely lunch time and they were already drinking. He had several shadow clones set up in the back of the bar and one on each end of the street to make sure they couldn't get away. The bar undoubtedly had a basement or a 'back room' where any number of illegal activities could be taking place so they might not just be drinking. He really hoped they came out sooner rather than later because he was having a hard time just sitting and sipping his tea.

x-x

Same place, two hours later

x-x

Naruto was now glaring across the street at the bar and even releasing a small amount of killing intent at it. He'd been sitting there for several hours now and none of the people he was looking for had come out. Several hours ago he just bored but now he was agitated and when they finally did come out, he was going to severely hurt them. Not that he wasn't planning to do that before but he would add in a little extra for making him wait so long.

As a side-effect of the training for the final ability of Haki (the color of the conquering king), Naruto had inadvertently learned how to release killing intent and Shakky had recently been teaching him the temporary paralysis technique which was usually only taught to ANBU. He'd used that technique several times to paralyze his targets in their tracks and he had gotten rather good at it. It probably wouldn't work on most ninja but it was still useful. He still hadn't managed to actually release his Haki but he felt that he might be getting closer by using the temporary paralysis technique and practicing with releasing killing intent.

Naruto also used these encounters to practice with the color of observation. He didn't put himself in unnecessary danger but he did try to predict their movements. Most of the people that he faced weren't ninja or only had basic academy training. A few had even been former genin, whether from Konoha or somewhere else. From what he learned many of those former genin weren't able to get any farther in terms of rank and they didn't want to be stuck as genin so they either left or were discharged. Being a genin apparently didn't pay well enough for them.

Naruto stopped his musings when he finally had enough of waiting and decided to go in. He got up after paying for his meal and headed for the bar. He knew there would probably be some damage but at this point he was willing to pay for it. This was actually his last job/mission until Shakky's 'Phase Two' came into play. She still wouldn't actually tell him what phase two was or if there was a phase three but he did trust her so he just went with it and let her reveal her 'master plan' when she wanted.

With a quick hand-seal, he released his henge which revealed what he was actually wearing beneath the henge of civilian clothes. Naruto had his standard dark green face-mask and his Konoha forehead protector was on a dark green bandanna and not the standard blue headband. He had on a sleeve-less hooded sweatshirt that was the same color as a chunin vest and made of similar material to ANBU vests. The same tanto that he carried with him the first time he went into the Forest of Death was strapped to his right shoulder. He also had blue pants that were the same style that were standard on Konoha uniforms with ninja boots that had covered toes instead of the normal sandals. Two standard pouches and one shuriken pouch completed the uniform.

Concentrating on the building, Naruto tried to determine exactly how many people were inside and if any of them were ninja or former ninja. He could detect fifteen people but there could be more and no person seemed to have more chakra then a civilian. He signaled his shadow clones and left one at the entrance and several at the back just in case someone tried to run. He had the faces and bounties of who he was after memorized so it shouldn't be too difficult to find them, even if the situation got out of hand.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Naruto entered the bar. His eyes quickly adjusted to the lower amount of light in the large room and he searched for who he was after. He walked past a couple of tables and ignored several waitresses and the bar tender. The group he was searching for was at one of the tables in and making a good amount of noise.

However some of the noise stopped when people saw his forehead protector but most weren't intimidated as he was still only seven years old. Its hard to be intimidating when your still considered a child and still short for your age.

Naruto stayed quiet until he could properly assess the situation. The bandits were already aware of his presence and had quieted down while they watched him walk up to their table. He tried to use his limited Haki abilities to sense or even predict what they might do. While Naruto was taught how to use stealth and was rather talented at its applications, sometimes he just preferred the direct approach, especially since he had been waiting outside for several hours.

"For unlawful activities in Fire Country, I'm here to arrest you." Naruto said in a serious voice and waited for the inevitable laughter. They always laughed at him when he said that. But what else was he supposed to say in this kind of situation?

The group of four all laughed in his face and other in the bar joined in. "Why don't you run along kid. This is no place for a brat like you." said one of them.

"Yeah its probably time for your nap." said another and a new round of laughter in the bar ensued.

Naruto was still standing in front of the table and not that concerned with the laughter. He was more focused on the one person in the group that really wasn't laughing. Naruto deemed this person to be the smarter person in the group and instead of joining in, this man was looking right at Naruto and waiting for an opening. Naruto kept getting the impression that he had a concealed weapon and was just waiting to use it.

"I'm guessing that you won't come easily then?" said Naruto while still remaining as serious and calm as possible. He actually had trouble hiding the smirk that wanted to appear on his face.

The man he had been keeping an eye on smirked while giving a signal with his hand and at that moment seven other people in the bar stood up from their seats. Naruto dropped the idea of smirking as he realized that the four must not have been alone and may have been meeting others but he didn't give any indication that he was threatened or surprised at the new development. On the inside however, he was worried as this had never happened to him before. Perhaps if he had waited, then the situation wouldn't be as bad as it was. On the other hand, he really wanted to hurt someone and now he had more targets. Naruto didn't like waiting and he didn't like being laughed at.

Before Naruto said anything else, he had the feeling that he was going to be attacked by the man he had been watching and reached for his tanto. Sure enough the man flicked his wrist and launched a senbon at Naruto's chest. Acting quickly, Naruto used the flat side of the blade to deflected the incoming senbon. The senbon was moving incredibly fast from the hidden launcher and kept going after ricocheting off the blade until it imbedded itself into the arm of an associate of the four bandits.

A very brief moment ensued in which the bandits were surprised that the ploy hadn't worked and one of their own had been injured. The injured man started panicking and screaming as apparently the senbon was poisoned. The moment passed however and everyone else that was sided with the bandits attacked.

The four bandits that he was originally after stood up but Naruto quickly kicked the edge of the round table they were sitting at and it slid across the floor into them. Three were knocked backwards and tripped over their own chairs while the fourth lost his balance and fell to the floor.

Two men came up behind him. Naruto moved far faster then the bandits and buried his elbow into one of them sending him toppling back into a third. The second threw a punch which Naruto dodge and then grabbed the man's arm. Striking out with his leg, Naruto broke his knee cap and used the arm that he caught to pull the man into a throw and toss him out of the way and into the paths of others.

Two of the original bandits didn't stay and fight. They had seen what Naruto could do and decided to run out the back door to escape. He didn't bother with them as his shadow clones would handle it. Naruto reacted and snatched a glass bottle out of air that had been thrown at him. He then tossed it into the head of someone else who was charging him. A brief use of the temporary paralysis technique stalled the others for now.

He was then forced to dodge and parry several more senbon that were thrown until he charged in on the remaining two bandits. He could tell his shadow clone that he left outside the front of the bar had charged in and was dealing with the rest, some of which were still temporarily paralyzed.

Naruto weaved through several more senbon and struck the bandit throwing the projectiles hard in the stomach making him double over. He twisted to dodged as a kunai strike and grabbed the offending arm with his free hand. Realizing that another bandit was attacking from the opposite direction, he threw his tanto into the mans thigh which it imbedded into and man screamed in pain while falling to the floor.

Dodging a punch and blocking a kick Naruto twisted the mans arm and then delivered his own kick. He kicked a second time but this time at to the senbon throwing bandit he had punched who was trying to get up. With that taken care of, he focused on the bandit whose arm he was still holding. Striking at a certain spot on the arm holding the kunai, forced the man to drop it. Before the falling kunai clattered to the floor, Naruto struck the mans neck making him gasp for breath, then delivered one punch to the stomach and once the man had doubled over from the stomach blow, Naruto now could reach his head and gave him a hard punch to the face.

Focusing back to the last original bandit who like to throw senbon, Naruto saw that he was just getting up from being punched and then kicked. Before the man could reach for another weapon, Naruto struck with a chop to the mans neck and fell to the floor of the bar unconscious.

Turning around to the rest of the bar, his shadow clone had already taken care of the others. Naruto pulled out a roll of ninja wire and tossed it to the clone to start tying up everyone that attacked him. He would have to stop by the local police and drop of the seven that had attacked him and then take the four men that he was after to the bounty station. Naruto let his clones deal with it while he got his tanto back from the mans thigh he had thrown it into. The man would probably live as the wound didn't hit the artery that was in the leg. The bar tender was glaring at him and Naruto rolled his eyes as he fished out some money to pay for the damages. Before he left, Naruto also wanted to take a look at the senbon launcher that the bandit had.

x-x

Shakky's Rip-off Bar, the next day

x-x

Naruto had been staying with Shakky during the two months that he had been doing missions. Naruto still hadn't figured out how, but the bar seemed to be far bigger on the inside then what the dimension on the outside had suggested. Shakky had a storeroom and several bedrooms in the back of the bar along with kitchen.

They were sitting at one of the tables in the bar area and Shakky was dividing the money that he had made from the last mission and counting it along with the rest of the money he had made during his two months of straight missions and bounty collecting. Removing the cut for the village and Shakky's fee, Naruto had made a sizable amount at two hundred thousand Ryo. He was working by himself so he didn't have to split the money with anyone else. Shakky had waited to tell him about the second phase of her plan until after she had counted up all the money. It seemed so long ago that Naruto had asked her for help in getting money for the Ichiraku's.

(AN: 200,000 Ryo is $20,000 in my story)

"Since you've managed to get the required amount of money for the second phase of my plan, its time to actually tell you what the second phase is." stated Shakky.

Naruto had waited patiently, not counting all the times he had asked and bugged her to tell him, to hear exactly what the rest of the plan was. Now he just wanted Shakky to tell him.

"But before I do, I need to know exactly how much you want to help the Ichiraku's?" asked Shakky.

"What do you mean how much?" asked Naruto as he thought it was just a simple matter of giving them some money.

"Well it isn't just a simple matter of giving them some money Naruto-chan, you have to know exactly what you want them to be able to do with the money and that will decide the total amount that you will need to raise." stated Shakky and Naruto was rather curious as to how she always seemed to know what he was thinking.

Naruto thought about what he wanted them to be able to do with the money he wanted to give them and formed an answer, "I guess...I want them to have enough to build a bigger restaurant and maybe hire some help. Ayame-chan wanted to be a chef so she might need to go to a special school or something because Teuchi-jisan can't cook anything but ramen."

"How big of a restaurant and where do you want it located?" Shakky asked while writing down his answers.

"Well...pretty big I guess and probably located somewhere where they'll get a lot of business. Like maybe the main roadway of Konoha." said Naruto and Shakky nodded while wrote down more notes. After a brief period and adding numbers in her head, she came up with the proper monetary amount.

"From what you've told me, I've determined that you need to make about ten million Ryo." stated Shakky seriously.

Naruto balked at the number. He only had two hundred thousand and he needed fifty times that? "Why so much, do restaurants really cost that much?" questioned Naruto as he couldn't believe how many more missions it would take him or how long it would take to get that kind of money.

Shakky merely smiled and shook her head. 'Naruto-chan really doesn't understand anything about money and a business.'

"I simply took what you said and came up with an appropriate number. You wanted them to have a nice restaurant and since Ayame-san wants to cook more than just ramen, the restaurant must be large enough to serve both. A place on the main stretch of Konoha will cost far more than anywhere else. That's probably why they have such a location now, because it was cheap. Also you wanted Ayame-san to go to culinary school. You do want her to go to a nice school, don't you?" asked Shakky seriously.

Naruto reluctantly nodded his head. Such a simple thing of repaying those who were kind to him had turned into such a daunting task. He did want the best for them and they deserved it. "Alright fine. I suppose you have a good plan for how I'm going to take the money I made and increase it by a factor of fifty!" asked Naruto as she still hadn't told him about the second phase of her plan.

"The second part of my plan is rather simple. The amount of money you made is the exact amount you'll need to enter in one of the many backroom gambling rings of Fire Country." said Shakky.

"What do you mean?" questioned Naruto as he wasn't sure exactly what she was planning.

"You see, while there are many different places to gamble in Fire Country, you can really only bet so much money and it would take a while to amass the amount that you need. Many casino's and other shady establishments offer higher stakes games between high-rolling patrons in backrooms that are not seen by the majority of gamblers. Usually it requires a starting amount that is paid upfront to enter and you would need to have connections to even get into those types of games. Considering the number of players and the fee, these games can be worth far more than you could win in most casino's and in far less time." stated Shakky.

"And you just happen to have all those connections and know all about the games." said Naruto with a knowing smile.

"Exactly. Didn't I say I would take care of you? You would only have to win a couple of games to get the money that you want."

"Yeah but I would still have to win those games. Are you sure I can beat all those other more experienced players." asked Naruto with some skepticism about his Baa-chan's plan.

"Naruto-chan, I'll let you in on a little secret that I've known for years..." at that statement, Naruto leaned forward to listen to what secret she was going to reveal, "...you have the luck of the devil."

x-x

Tanzaku Gai, Later that week

x-x

Naruto walked down the street side by side with Shakky. They were currently headed for one of the places that Shakky knew about. A poker match was being held in one of the back rooms of a rather large casino named the Daimyo's Palace and Shakky had gotten Naruto an invite. Before going in, Naruto henged into someone a little older so as not to arouse suspicion, also the probably wouldn't let in a kid, ninja or not.

Shakky wasn't actually coming with Naruto into the game but would do something while he was gambling and then meet up with him later. Naruto had asked what she was doing but Shakky hadn't been forthcoming with any details and only stated that she had some business to attend to. Whatever that meant.

After they entered the casino, Shakky told Naruto where to go and then they split up. Naruto proceeded to try and find the guarded door that he was looking for. He passed several bar areas, numerous slot machines, and many gaming tables. He spotted the doorway that he thought was the right one and headed for it. An intimidating guard was standing on the side of the doorway and Naruto could see at least one camera focusing on the door. Naruto walked up the person and pulled out his invitation. The man took the invitation, looked at it, then gave it back. The guard turned and knocked on the door. Then signaled the camera.

Naruto heard a locking mechanism being flipped and the door opened. The guard only said one thing before Naruto entered and that was, "Go down the hall and don't stray until you get to the red door." With that, nervous Naruto entered the door.

x-x

Naruto walked down a white hallway in search of a red door. He passed several rooms on the way but didn't stray from his path. It wasn't until he passed by a large kitchen that he saw the red door that he was after. He opened the door and entered the room.

Naruto was greeted by a woman dressed in a very nice kimono. The room wasn't very large but well decorated. It lead into a hallway that had many traditional sliding doors and Naruto assumed that they were the private rooms for the games. She asked him if he wanted anything to drink and he declined. She then told him that his seat was ready and his chips were already on the table before ushering him through one of the sliding doors and into a very nicely furnished room.

It took a while for everyone to show up but that was mostly because Naruto was rather early. He was henged to look rather well dressed in formal wear although beneath the henge he was wearing his normal ninja clothing. The henge portrayed him as to what he thought Sanji would look like. Therefore his hair was blonde and straight, he had a short goatee, and his eyebrow made the Uzumaki clan symbol shape. He wasn't actually going to try and imitate Sanji but he thought the act that he was going to put up required an amount of suave playboy type with money to spend and that was the person he immediately thought of. Naruto was even dressed in a black vest, orange dress shirt, and blacks pants. All in all he rather liked the look.

Shakky had spent the week preparing Naruto for this match by playing him. She managed to determine every one of his 'tells' and had him play several games in places in Crater City to get a feel of reading people. It wasn't that difficult as Naruto was extremely observant and had a very good memory. Shakky had succeeded in making sure he had every advantage possible before going in to the match.

The plan was for Naruto to not care about winning or losing for the first couple of hands until he had a feel for the other players. He would let them see the 'tells' that he wanted them to see. At that point he would start playing seriously and read them while using his own 'tells' to his advantage.

When all six seats were filled, Naruto noticed that none of the players were rather talkative and no one had even introduced themselves. 'Its probably to keep things anonymous.' he thought. With six players at the table, there was around one million two hundred thousand Ryo at stake. Shakky said that this was one of the smaller games and she could get him into a larger game with the money that he won. If everything went right, he would only have to play three separate games before he had enough money.

The dealer sat down and the game started.

x-x

less than two hours later

x-x

Naruto gave a small smile as he looked down at his large stack of chips. He followed through with the plan and had won everything on the table. They had already suspected him of cheating but after switching decks and dealers twice, they were reluctant to accept the fact that he was just that good at playing cards.

While Naruto was pulling all his chips together, one of men that he was playing with came up and asked him if he wanted to join another game just down the hall. He told Naruto that the stakes would be much higher than the game they were just playing and that Naruto would be at a disadvantage to the other players since he had less money.

The stakes for the game down the hall were one and half million Ryo and Naruto didn't have nearly that much. Chip-wise, he would be at a disadvantage to the other players who would have about three hundred thousand Ryo in chips more than him. On the other hand, if Naruto managed to win that game, then he would be over halfway to his goal. Naruto decided to take the offer and the man directed him to the new room. Shakky hadn't mentioned that he could be apart of more than one poker game but it would be worth it if he was able to win.

Naruto had no idea that the man he was talking to actually worked for the casino and specifically played these lower stakes game not to win or lose but to look for good players. The owner of the casino also liked to play in these games and he took his poker very seriously. He didn't want to play with a bunch of rich snobs who weren't very good players, he wanted to play with challenging opponents. If Naruto managed to win the next round, then he would be sent to play in an even higher stakes game with other chosen players and the owner of the casino.

x-x

The game that Naruto entered was more intense than the first with better players. Two had already been eliminated from the four that were originally playing. Naruto had been keeping up with the other players and was starting to build momentum in the game. He observed that these players were far more observant than any he had played before and the tension in the room was rather thick. Several of the players still at the table looked like well dressed criminals and Naruto didn't exactly want to make enemies by dominating the game like he did in the previous game. He still had no idea what their names were or anything about the people that he was playing but he was thankful for the fact that he was still wearing his henge.

In the current hand, Naruto had made a bet but had been raised and he was debating about calling the raise or not. He pretended to be debating over what to do while in reality he was actually trying to gauge whether his opponent had a hand that could beat the three sixes that Naruto currently had. He was looking and waiting for his opponent to do something. Any detectable change in behavior that he had seen before and memorized when the man showed his hand.

Earlier in the game, the same man had removed his hand that wasn't holding his cards and rested it on his thigh. At the end of the betting, he revealed a rather good hand that won him the pot. So far he hadn't done this and had kept both hands on the table. Naruto also noticed earlier in the game that he tended to stare or glance at several furnishings in the room when he was nervous about his cards. So far, he had looked at a painting in the room several times and that gave Naruto a hint that his cards might be better than his opponents.

Naruto called the raise and both players showed their cards. Naruto had won with three of a kind of sixes while his opponent only had two pair, aces and eights. The pot hadn't been that large and Naruto wished he had put more in it but it was already over with and he had to focus as new cards were being dealt.

The game carried on in the same slow fashion. While he did lose a couple of hands, he won more than his fair share and defeated the remaining players. Naruto wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since there weren't any windows or a clock but he getting a bit weary of playing and was glad that this game was finally over. He had taken in just over seven million Ryo and was rather pleased with himself.

He was having trouble holding all his chips when he stood up and went towards the sliding door to exit the room. Naruto's path was blocked however as the same man from the first game was now standing in the doorway. Naruto tensed slightly and was ready to attack with just his legs because his hands were full. The man wasn't there for a fight though and stated, "Since you did so well in this game, you have been invited to Gentaru-sama's table for an additional round with higher stakes."

Naruto thought about this new offer. He had over seven million Ryo but was still short several million from what Shakky told him he needed. Before Naruto agreed however, he had a few questions, "Who Gentaru and what are the stakes?"

"Gentaru-sama is the owner of this casino and the stakes are five million Ryo to enter the game. He insists that you join him at his table." replied the man blocking his path.

Naruto thought about this new information. Even if he lost, he would still have over two million Ryo but if he won, he would have more than enough. While he was tired, Naruto decided to take the chance. From what his Baa-chan said, she already had several other games planned for him so he would still have the two million Ryo to play in those other games if he lost.

After agreeing, Naruto was taken to the final room along the hallway. He could tell it was the largest and most extravagant just by the intricate designs on the traditional sliding door. The door opened and he was admitted to the room. The dealer took his chips and removed five million from his winning and placed them on the table where Naruto was to sit. The room was at least twice the size of the previous rooms and had a small bar and bar tender. The decorations were much finer in this room and Naruto noticed the three guards in the room. One by the door and two standing against the wall on the opposite side of the room, closest to who Naruto assumed was Gentaru.

The man was rather imposing with a no real expression. His hair was graying and slicked back and he wore a rather plain robes. The other three people at the table looked similar to the other people that Naruto had already beaten. Naruto couldn't help but focus on Gentaru as the man had been looking at Naruto since he entered. Naruto sat down on the exact opposite end of the table as Gentaru and the dealer started the game.

x-x

Naruto quickly realized that Gentaru didn't seem to care at all for anyone else in the room but him. If Naruto folded then Gentaru folded and if Naruto was betting then Gentaru was betting. Naruto started to get the feeling that the other men in the room were just for show and that he was really playing a one on one game with the owner of the casino.

It wasn't very long, or it was a while as Naruto still didn't know how much time had passed, before the other players were defeated and only Naruto and Gentaru were left. See as no one had really talked during the entire game, it was very different to not have any of the other players there anymore. Although Naruto had a feeling that the other players had purposely lost or taken a dive one after another to leave just the two players left.

Many turns had elapsed until Naruto finally came out on top with the majority of the chips sitting in his pile. Gentaru was a very experienced player and Naruto really couldn't read anything from him. He was looking at his flush of spades and decided to bet enough to make his opponent have to use all of his chips to call. Naruto put in the required amount and waited for Gentaru to make his move.

Gentaru had been having an interesting time playing this newcomer to his establishment. He had cameras in the rooms and had been watching the young mans progress since the first match. It had been a while since he had seen such a good player and he couldn't miss the chance to face him. One thing Gentaru hadn't counted on was that he was currently losing. Losing was something he never liked but it never actually happened. By the end of the game he would always win. The other players at the table were supposed to give his opponent false confidence as they lost rather quickly.

However, his opponent hadn't made any mistakes or made many rash moves. He was also difficult to Gentaru to read. He had several tells but most were just fakes to throw Gentaru off and they had worked. Now his opponent was betting enough to end the game. Gentaru wasn't sure how good of a hand the young man had but he didn't want to lose on this hand. Therefore he had a backup plan that he had used before and never failed him.

Gentaru liked to collect many different items of worth. He collected artifacts, artwork, gems, and anything of value. He kept several pieces in his office and others in his home or even in his vault in the casino. Out of all of those items, only one did he wish he had never purchased.

Signaling one of his guards, the man left the room and went to where that item was kept to retrieve it. Gentaru wanted to call the bet but didn't want to use his remaining chips so he would offer the item instead. For the first time during the game, he spoke to his opponent, "I'd like to call your bet but I was wondering if you would let me wager something else besides my chips?"

Naruto was tense and wondered why the guard had left. Now he was curious as to what Gentaru wanted to wager instead of his chips. He wasn't sure if this was unorthodox or not, to offer something else during the game, but the man owned the casino and could make the rules at his game. Naruto responded with a question of his own, "I suppose your guard is going to fetch this 'wager'?"

"Indeed. He should be back shortly with the item. Then you can decide whether or not you will except it in place of my chips." said Gentaru in a pleasant voice but inside he was smirking in triumph.

The item he was going to wager was something he had acquired many years ago. He had it appraised by someone he trusted and bought the item for the full asking price. The item was brought to him and from the moment he touched it, he received nothing but bad luck. His business ventures failed or fell through, his companies suffered, and even his illegal ventures went bad. He didn't notice, at first, that the item was the cause, nor did he noticed that the effects were only worsened when he actually wore the item.

Gentaru investigated because he originally believed that someone was trying to take over his businesses but that wasn't the case. All of the incidents and problems he was having weren't the result of a person or person's. The only thing they could be contributed to was bad luck or an act of Kami. No evidence was found of anyone trying to ruin him.

It was only by accident that he discovered the real reason was the item he purchased. Gentaru had never been a superstitious person but that changed quickly. After that he tried to sell it back to the person that sold it to him but the man had moved on and couldn't be found. He then tried to sell it to someone else. The first person was the billionaire shipping tycoon Gatou. However Gatou quickly discovered that their was something wrong with the artifact and demanded Gentaru to take it back and refund his money.

Subsequently, that fiasco meant that no one who would be interested in the item and pay top dollar for it, wanted it anymore. He tried several times to sell it, but they all failed. Word had apparently spread to those that might be interested in it and no one was willing to buy any item from him anymore, especially one that was supposedly cursed.

Gentaru was a greedy person and refused to sell the item for any less than he had paid for it. Thus it was placed in a box and put in the back of his vault. The item had stopped affecting him once he no longer touched it and didn't have it near him. He was reduced to merely holding on to it and never touching or even seeing it, except when he had use for it.

Right now was one of those times where he had use for the item. He had used this tactic more than once during these games. On one of the few times he was losing, he exchanged his bet in chips for the item. The opponent would either lose the hand and the game would proceed as normal or the opponent would win the hand and win the item, while Gentaru kept his remaining chips. Either way, Gentaru came out on top.

If the opponent won, then they would touch or even wear the item and the effects would be almost instantaneous. They would lose. Despite having an advantage in chips or even in skill at the game, they would always lose. Then the item would be won back by Gentaru, or taken back, to be used again. This was one of the reasons that Gentaru always won.

The sliding door to the room opened again and the guard walked in with a wooden box. The box was placed halfway between Naruto and Gentaru and then opened. Naruto was already leaning forward to determine what item it was that Gentaru was offering for the bet.

The box opened and revealed a simple but beautiful necklace. It was composed of a black band with six magatama attacked to it. Each was a beautiful deep red.

(AN: for those that don't know, magatama are curved beads and are what Orochimaru wears on his earrings and similar in shape to the comma's in the Sharingan only with a longer tail)

Naruto looked up to ask if he could get a better look at it and Gentaru nodded to the guard who brought it closer to Naruto. So mesmerized with the necklace, Naruto didn't notice the mans triumphant smirk.

The box was placed in front of Naruto and he inspected the contents. Each magatama was the exact same shape and size of the others and each resembled blood red fangs. The each had a whole near the top and were attached to the necklace with a separate band to keep them in place on the necklace. Naruto was about to ask what they were made of when Gentaru spoke, "Each is carved from a simgle piece of red jade. You'll notice that they have no tool marks or scratching of any kind and were most likely made by a master craftsman. They have no flaws in them and for lack of a better term, are perfect." Naruto looked up to him and made a slight motion which Gentaru had seen many times before in the other people that had seen the necklace, "Yes you can touch them but I ask that you be very careful and not remove the item from the box or try it on."

Naruto felt rather strange the moment he first saw the necklace. Now with it so close to him and within touching distance, he had to touch it. He hadn't even waited for Gentaru to finish his statement before he started inspecting each magatama.

The man was right, they had no flaws, whether from scratching, wear, tool marks, or in the material itself which was the red jade. The felt heavier then he though they would be and were actually warm to the touch. They weren't just a solid color but had some gradient to them when he looked closely and they were so finely polished that he could actually see his reflection in the red surface.

While Naruto had no idea how to appraise anything or had any clue what the necklace might be worth, at that moment, he didn't care what it was worth and was willing to allow it in place of his opponents chips. He desired the necklace more than any one item that he had ever wanted. The only thing he could compare it to were his books but they were never given to him but always in available to him from the earliest time he could remember.

(AN: If your thinking that the necklace is the Yasakani no Magatama (one the three Japanese imperial regalia and also supposedly worn by the sage of six paths in Naruto) then you would be correct. I won't hint at its powers just yet as they will be revealed in time.)

Gentaru was having trouble hiding his smile as the young man in front of him (Naruto's still henged) inspected every inch of the magatama and was completely taken by the necklace. Gentaru was completely confident that he would agree to use have it wagered in the bet. Like everyone who had ever looked at it before in this situation, they desired it, and it wouldn't be long before the negative effects started, that is if Gentaru lost the hand. At this point Gentaru felt that he had already won and the necklace as well as the money would be his.

x-x

Thirty minutes had elapsed since the necklace was put into the game and Gentaru was not more shocked and confused than he had ever been before. His opponent had won the hand and gotten the necklace. He had then put on the necklace and they continued the game. What Gentaru couldn't figure out was why nothing was happening. There was no streak of bad luck and his opponent wasn't winning or losing. In fact the game had gone back and forth for the past thirty minutes with neither player willing to make a huge play and finish the game. Gentaru won some money, then Naruto won it back and neither was playing any better then they were half a hour before.

Gentaru couldn't figure it out. The necklace should have started working long before. It should have had visible effects in his opponents game-play and luck but it didn't do anything. The young man was neither having worse luck nor better luck than before. Despite touching the necklace and now wearing it, nothing had changed! It was driving Gentaru mad as he sat across from his opponent and tried to remain calm while keeping a neutral face.

'Something should have happened! Losing every hand, fumbling or dropping his cards, accidentally knocking over his stack of chips, a light burning out near him, at least something should have happened, damnit!' but no matter how hard Gentaru thought about it and wished for it, nothing had happened and may never happen.

'Perhaps the curse wore off.' he worried and couldn't help but continuously stare at the necklace and wonder if it appeared any different from the last time he had seen it. 'The only thing that's different in this situation from all the times before it is the person.' he thought and stopped staring at the necklace to look at his opponent. Was there something different about this opponent from all the previous ones? These games were mostly kept anonymous and Gentaru had no idea who the young man in front of him was. He didn't know anything about the man. He was younger than most other opponents he had faced but that was the only conclusive thing he could find. His opponent had gotten the invitation through a third party that had been in these backrooms before but not one that Gentaru had ever faced personally.

As Gentaru was trying to figure out what was happening, Naruto was feeling a little uncomfortable. 'The guy must really miss this necklace, he's been staring at if for like fifteen minutes. Then he started staring really intently at me. Its getting rather creepy, maybe we should just end this game, it hasn't been going anywhere.' thought Naruto as he was rather tired of playing poker and wanted to leave. He and Shakky still had to walk home about twenty miles and he didn't even know what time it was. They had never set a time to meet back up and he needed to find her.

Naruto pickup his cards and saw that he had three kings and an eight and a six. Since the hand looked good so far, he was going to try and pull his opponent all in and end the game. 'Baa-chan's probably been waiting for me forever and I know how much she hates to wait.' Naruto shivered slightly. It was probably best to end the game now and when he faced an irritated Shakky, he would give her some of his winnings. 'After all, I've got more than enough to help the Ichiraku's and have plenty left over for other things too.' he thought and made a reasonable bet.

Gentaru was still thinking about the necklace and not paying attention to the game or Naruto's actions and tells as he probably should have been. He called the bet and looked at his cards, he had an assortment of nothing. He put back all but the two face cards and took three cards from the dealer. Naruto only took two cards.

The dealer dealt the cards to each player and both examined what they had. Naruto picked up another king and a six, so he had four of kind in kings. Gentaru picked up a ten, nine, and eight which combined with his queen and jack gave him a straight.

'I guess my lucks coming around, I should bet big on this hand and stop the silly back and forth game-play. I have a feeling that necklace might finally be working its charm.' he thought and inwardly smiled. Moving towards his chips, he pushed them all forward and said, "I'm all in."

Naruto eyes widened and he thought, 'I guess he got bored with this game too.' and without hesitation, he called the bet. Gentaru's inward smiled turned to a frown, 'He went all in rather fast.'

Both player put down their cards and Naruto's four of kind beat Gentaru's straight. A long moment passed in which the only movement was Naruto collecting all of his chips from the pot.

Gentaru hadn't moved as he stared across the table, 'That shouldn't have happened! I never lose!'

His neutral visage turned into a scowl while Naruto wasn't watching. Naruto collected all his chips and after retrieving the other two million that he didn't need to enter the game, he left to go down the hall and cash in. At the opposite end of the hall was a room where he could exchange his chips.

The sliding door closed leaving Gentaru, his guards, the dealer, and the bar tender. Few words could describe how angry the man who had just lost was. Gentaru leaned his head towards one of the guards and said, "Wait till he's in the hallway and then grab him. I want back what's mine. We can dispose of him later."

x-x

Naruto left through the red door with twenty seven million Ryo split between two scrolls crammed in his pockets. His suit henge didn't offer good places to keep ninja gear. He had a crap load of money, more than enough to pay back the Ichiraku's, a new necklace, and really big smile on his face.

He walked down the hallway back to the door that he came in. He still wasn't sure how he was going to find Shakky or even where she would be. She hand't been forthcoming at all with what she would be doing in the town while Naruto was gambling.

Right when Naruto was about to pass by the kitchen, he sensed three people closing in on him from behind. They were still about thirty feet away but they were walking rather fast and headed right for him. 'I guess that guy really doesn't like to lose.' thought Naruto.

He didn't necessarily want to get into a fight while still inside the casino. Gentaru probably had a bunch of guards and maybe even a former ninja or two on his payroll. Passing by the entrance to the kitchen, Naruto made an abrupt turn into it.

x-x

The three men following noticed that their target had ducked into the kitchen and they ran after him. He had obviously found out they were following him or had expected a double-cross and they needed to grab him before he made a scene. They slowed down briefly and entered the kitchen...to find it empty of anyone. They briefly looked around before they took off, believing that he had already run to the opposite end of the kitchen and out the back door.

x-x

Rather than run around the kitchen and try to find an exit, Naruto had slipped into one of the walk-in fridges in the large kitchen. He was surprised to find the kitchen deserted. He must have been playing poker far longer than he originally thought. He felt the men that were following him run by. Naruto waited for several minutes before he felt it was safe and exited the freezer.

No sooner had he opened the door and stepped one foot out of the freezer then a leg impacted his abdomen and sent him flying back into the back wall of the fridge. Naruto's Sanji henge dispelled at some point after the kick and before he dented the stainless steel wall with a loud bang.

Coughing Naruto attempted to get up. 'Holy shit that was a powerful kick!' thought Naruto as he held his stomach. He reached back for a weapon and prepared to launch some counter attack or diversion so he could run. 'Whoever this person is, I didn't detect him at all.' thought a worried Naruto. The strength of the kick and stealth implied that he was facing an experienced ninja.

Naruto stayed silent but the other person made himself known, "Just what the hell do you think your doing in my fridge at this late of an hour!"

A short but stocky man stepped out of the fridge doorway and into the light while the smoke from Naruto's dispelled henge cleared which showed both individuals their opponent. A short moment passed between the two as they stopped moving stared at the other. They had met before, at Rayleigh's funeral.

Please Review


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

Poll Results

**WINNER: Suijin suggested by Vongola Melstrom - 15 votes**

Runner up: Getsuei Gogyou suggested by Vongola Maelstrom - 14 votes

son ame ao suggested by Raidentensho - 12 votes

soudai uzumaki kirite suggested by VLS - 8 votes

Thank you to those who voted.

x-x

Chapter XIII: An adventure to say the final goodbye

AN: A continuation of the previous chapter

Tanzaku Gai, around midnight

x-x

Naruto was currently sitting with two packs of frozen vegetables, one held to his abdomen and the other was pinned between the middle of his back and the back of booth he was sitting in. Both had been provided by his former attacker who turned out to be the head chef at the casino. Since Naruto hadn't eaten, the chef had made him something while Naruto watched. The man was quite skilled in cooking and made an incredible dish for Naruto to eat. So far, those men that were chasing him hadn't come back.

Sitting across from Naruto in the small booth in the kitchen was the same person that attacked him. He was dressed in a chefs uniform with an extremely tall chefs hat. He had a blonde beard with an extremely long and braided mustache that extended diagonally towards the floor. He always seemed to have a grumpy attitude too.

Naruto learned that his name was Zeff and at one point he had been a ninja of Uzushiogakure which was how he knew Rayleigh and Shakky. Zeff was not part of the Uzumaki clan but was apparently a rather renown shinobi many years prior for his taijutsu, until he lost his leg when Uzushio was destroyed. After that he had to cope with the loss of his leg which destroyed his ninja career. He had eventually gotten an artificial leg, which was from Suna.

Interestingly enough, Shakky had actually forced him to get it and helped him acquire it almost two decades ago when he inadvertently stumbled across her bar. She also taught him how to use chakra strings to operate it while charging a small price for the lessons and help.

(AN: Yes this is the person that taught and raised Sanji, Chef Zeff. Zeff is also much younger than Shakky or Rayleigh as he is around the age of the Sannin.)

Zeff's parents, who had perished in the destruction of the village, had a family owned and operated restaurant and Zeff was one of the few members of his extended family to become a shinobi and not work in the restaurant. He still knew how to cook and after getting over the loss of the leg, he found cooking was the only thing left that he could do. He drifted for a while from job to job and traveled quite a bit. He eventually settled in Tanzaku Gai and became the head chef of the casino. Naruto gathered that he really wasn't happy here though. Zeff had mentioned several times that he wasn't allowed to make a menu that he wanted and had to make what the owner of the casino wanted to be on the menu.

"So let me get this straight, you managed to take the owner of this casino for twenty seven million Ryo and an expensive necklace, despite the fact that the man has never lost any of his poker games and you decided to hide in my fridge to escape his goons." stated Zeff in a gruff voice. Naruto merely nodded and Zeff kicked him hard in the shin, "Are you stupid? Why would you even try to beat a man like Gentaru and why do you even need that much money."

"Well..." Naruto started and he informed Zeff about the Ichiraku's and how he wanted to repay them while leaving out certain things about the villagers and the Kyuubi. Zeff wasn't stupid though and put together everything himself. He knew about Kushina being sent to Konoha and had guessed about the Kyuubi being sealed and now he knew for certain that Naruto had inherited that burden. Although Zeff didn't want to admit it, he was rather touched by the boys story of trying to thank the chef and his daughter that were kind to him.

Apparently the ramen chef always dreamed of owning a large restaurant that served more than his ramen and the daughter always wanted to learn to make a variety of different dishes. The idea of letting them make their own restaurant was appealing and was something that he had wanted to do for a while, he just hadn't found somewhere he wanted to build it or gotten the money yet.

Of course Zeff wasn't going to show this sentiment. "I'm not sorry I kicked you and don't ever hide in my fridge again." stated Zeff coldly and Naruto merely sweat-dropped.

While Naruto had been retelling his story, there was one thing that had come to mind which he hadn't thought of yet. 'Teuchi-san has no idea how to cook anything but ramen and Ayame-chan won't get done from school for a while. How are they going to start a restaurant then?'

Naruto hadn't actually thought about the fact that they could wait a while before starting up the restaurant. Probably until Ayame was out of culinary school so now he was rather panicked. 'What if they start the restaurant and it fails and they are in tons of debt and have to sell everything! Instead of thanking them for their kindness, I would ruin them!' he thought.

Zeff watched as Naruto was lost in thought and ignored the boy while he finished his drink. The brat looked rather concerned and deep in thought. Zeff was rather curious but thought perhaps Naruto had finally realized that he just stole millions of Ryo from a crook who might come after him, or put a bounty on his head.

Naruto came out of his thoughts and said, "Your a good chef right?" and Zeff merely gave the boy a deadpanned look and a slight glare but Naruto ignored it. "How would you like to go to Konoha and help out the Ichiraku's? Neither of them know how to make anything but ramen and maybe you could teach Ayame or even both to cook other things."

"Brat, I already have a job here." Zeff said as he motioned to the kitchen around them with his hands.

"Yeah but its not like your happy with it." countered Naruto.

Although Zeff didn't want to admit it, the blonde brat had a point. He really wasn't that happy with his job and hadn't been since he accepted it. He wanted to own his own place and make the menu instead of someone else making it for him. The offer caught him off-guard but Zeff was sure that Naruto really wasn't thinking it through.

"Sure I'd like to start my own restaurant but what your talking about isn't really any different than I have here. It wouldn't be my restaurant and I would be working for someone else who makes the menu. I don't see how that's any different from what I have here." stated Zeff.

"Well, the Ichiraku's are a lot nicer than Gentaru, as long as you don't mess with their ramen. I don't think they would have a problem with you making your own menu if you were the head chef or whatever." replied Naruto.

Zeff scowled as he thought it over. It was an interesting idea. However he didn't just want to completely take over another chef's kitchen so to speak. He doubted that he and this 'Teuchi' would be able to get along and work out some kind of arrangement. There weren't many people that Zeff managed to get along with.

"And your sure that Teuchi-san wouldn't mind me coming in and pretty much taking over the cooking, except for the ramen. I doubt it would be that easy to come to an agreement. I want to own my own place and I don't want to just work for someone else." stated Zeff. He was interested in the idea as it would be nice to work for/with someone better, in a better place, and with his own menu but not everything worked out the way that Naruto envisioned and Zeff really wanted his own place.

Naruto struggled to think of some kind of alternative. He could tell that Zeff was interested but he had to find a suggestion that would work for everyone. He wanted to help the Ichiraku's and he felt that Zeff was someone that he could trust and that could help them out. The problem was that both Zeff and Teuchi dreamed of their own places. Zeff could do all the cooking in his own place but Teuchi was only able to make good ramen. 'Each wants there own place but the kitchen can't be split.' thought Naruto until an idea occurred to him.

"What if you each had your own place but shared one large kitchen?" asked Naruto abruptly.

Zeff raised an eyebrow at this new suggestion. For the most part, Zeff had been humoring the boy but this was the best suggestion so far and it was appealing in a few ways. Zeff would have his own place and the ramen chef would have his own place and they would share a bigger kitchen and cook dishes for both places.

There was however one problem with this suggestion, "I don't quite have the money for my own place and I don't think that your ramen chef would want to share the money your sending him with me nor would I take any charity. It was an interesting idea though." stated Zeff seriously and he started getting up from the booth. It was rather late and he wanted to get some sleep before work tomorrow. The only reason he was even in the kitchen tonight was because he forgot to check inventory. It was at that point that he found someone in one of his fridges.

Naruto thought quickly for another solution as he could see that Zeff was leaving and he didn't want to miss this chance. "No ones asking you to go and help the Ichiraku's..." started Naruto and Zeff stopped getting up to listen, "...I'm paying you to help them." finished Naruto.

Though Zeff tried to prevent it, a small smirk formed on his face. "And how much are you willing to pay me?" asked Zeff whose interest had once again been caught.

Naruto thought about it, 'I have nearly thirty million, Shakky will probably want her cut for some large made up fee, and I already have ten million planned for the Ichiraku's. That leaves practically nothing left for myself but who cares, I was never interesting in making any money anyway and I already got this necklace.'

(AN: Shakky would probably take around twenty percent or more of the original winnings, so Naruto wouldn't have that much left.)

"Nine million Ryo." stated Naruto with determination.

Zeff's eyes widened slightly, "So your going to pay me nine million Ryo to leave everything I have here and go to Konoha to help out a ramen chef and his daughter, whom I've never met, build two restaurants, one mine and one theirs, with a shared kitchen so that you can pay back a debt that you feel you owe them. Does that about sum it up."

"Pretty much, yeah. When can you start?" asked Naruto seriously.

Zeff couldn't help but chuckle at the brat. He made Zeff an offer that he couldn't refuse and went through who knows what else in order to thank two people who had showed him kindness. The only response he could give was, "Let me see the money first."

x-x

On the road back to Crater City and Shakky's bar

x-x

Since it was so late after his dealings with Zeff, Naruto stayed in a hotel overnight and set out to find Shakky in the morning. He didn't actually have to go looking for her as he found her in the lobby of his hotel, reading a paper, after he had checked out at the front desk.

Naruto started their conversation back to Crater City with, "You'll never guess what happened..." and had given Shakky all the details on what had transpired the previous day. Naruto noted that Shakky didn't actually seem surprised but kept the same small knowing smile through the whole explanation. When Naruto mentioned the scroll he was keeping the remaining money, it was then that she wanted her cut of the winnings. Instead of asking for a specific amount, she just took the entire scroll and laughed when Naruto complained.

Naruto had just finished his story several miles before they reached the bar. He couldn't understand how his Baa-chan could not be surprised by what happened to him during his little adventures, 'Unless..' Naruto thought.

"You didn't plan all of this, did you?" Naruto abruptly asked or actually accosted her.

"Fufufufu...Are you accusing me of planning out something so complicated and complex as that in such a short amount of time?" inquired Shakky.

Naruto frowned and Shakky ruffled his hair saying, "Your so cute, Naruto-chan." She then returned to walking towards her bar.

It was at that point that Naruto realized that she hadn't actually answered his question.

x-x

Shakky listened to Naruto's entire story on the way back to her bar. She knew most of what he was describing and couldn't help but smile as her plan had gone exactly how she had intended and perhaps even better than she hoped. She had chosen that casino for many different reasons. One of the main reasons was that she wanted to know if the owner had in his possession the item that she had been looking for.

When his guards had gone to the vault to bring Gentaru a small wooden box, Shakky had been able sneak in a get a look at all of the items that Gentaru had collected. The one that she was looking for wasn't there, which was rather disappointing, but also meant that she could cross someone else off her list. While she was in the vault, she also helped herself to a few items that Gentaru might not notice were missing for quite some time. Shakky was confident that Naruto could handle himself but she never actually thought that everything would turn out so well.

She knew that Naruto would catch the eye of Gentaru and be moved up through the poker matches. Shakky also knew that Gentaru had some type of item that was responsible for his winning every poker match but she didn't know what it was, only that it caused terrible luck. Never would she have imagined that the item was the Yasakani no Magatama. That jewel had been lost and exchanged hands so many times that most had forgotten about it, what it stood for, and anything about what powers it had. Even Shakky wasn't completely sure what it did. She had heard many stories during her lifetime about the powers that it possessed but, to her knowledge, no one had ever had proof and some of the stories were so different from each other. The only thing that she could confirm now was that it could cause bad luck.

The first time that she had ever seen it before was when she saw Naruto in the lobby of his hotel while he was checking out at the front desk. Before jumping to conclusions, she had inspected it, without touching it, to determine if it could be real or not. Shakky never thought that she would ever see such a legendary artifact and was still surprised that Naruto was wearing it and now owned it.

Zeff was also a part of her plan but she never thought that Naruto would convince him to move to Konoha and start his own restaurant. Zeff was a stubborn man but a good friend, who didn't accept anything from anyone. It took quite some arm twisting for him to even accept the artificial leg that she had specially made for him. He insisted that he had to pay her back. Shakky had also been trying to get him out of that casino kitchen and open up his own place for years. She knew he was saving for it but he didn't get paid that much. Naruto had managed to accomplish more in a few hours than what she had in many years.

There were only two tasks left before Naruto would go to the Fire Temple. The first was to send the money to the Ichiraku's and probably include an explanation. The second was something that she had been putting off for a little while but couldn't any longer.

x-x

Konoha, Hokage's office

x-x

The Sandaime sat in his chair and exhaled smoke from his pipe. The last few months had been terrible on him. 'First it was Naruto's problems and Rayleigh's death, then the Uchiha massacre. The Sandaime tried to keep the peace but the village elders had gone behind his back. Itachi was gone, his brother was in the hospital, and the Sandaime still didn't know exactly what had happened. The village was strained with the loss of an entire clan and the Sandaime hadn't been so stressed since he returned to being Hokage.

Naruto had been gone for a couple of months and had managed to perform over fifty missions for the village. The Sandaime didn't remember ever agreeing to let Naruto perform solo missions but it seemed that the boy was definitely genin material if he could complete so many solo missions. He knew that Shakky was trying to keep him busy but he never agreed to the mission. The agreement was for Naruto to spend time in the Fire Temple. He already sent a letter to Shakky expressing his opinions on the matter but he knew she probably ignored it.

The village needed every ninja that they had on missions and patrol. The Sandaime couldn't spare anyone, even to travel the short distance to Crater City, to make sure that Naruto made it to the Fire Temple. He also didn't want anyone to know that Naruto was no longer in the village and couldn't risk that getting out. Shakky obviously knew that and was using the situation to her advantage.

The Sandaime was surprised that no one had brought up the fact that Naruto was no longer in the academy and hadn't been since before Rayleigh passed away. With the Uchiha massacre and the backlash from it, everyone seemed to overlook the fact that Naruto was no longer in the academy. The original reason he had been absent, during the time around Rayleigh's death, was for health reasons. Of course Naruto didn't actually get sick but no one knew that. Naruto's name had been removed from the attendance list at the academy and no one had said anything about it or investigated in anyway.

The Sandaime thought at least one person would mention the fact that the village Jinchuuriki was missing but it hadn't come up in any council meetings and he hadn't heard any rumors spreading through the village. The Sandaime couldn't believe how well Shakky's plan was going and he couldn't believe that he had managed to get away with letting Naruto out of the village. Although the Sandaime didn't want to admit it, Naruto was practically a prisoner of Konoha. The civilians either wanted him locked up or to leave the village and the ninja clans and council elders wouldn't ever agree to let him leave. The Sandaime himself believed that Naruto could show everyone that they were wrong about him and perhaps even become Hokage in the future. He wanted Naruto to become as great a Konoha ninja as his parents were before him.

A knock on the door brought the Hokage out of his thoughts and back to the present task. The Sandaime allowed the two civilians that he had been expecting enter his office.

The Ichiraku's entered the Sandaime's office and couldn't help but wonder exactly what they were there for. Teuchi had a feeling that it concerned Naruto as the boy hadn't been to their ramen stand in quite some time which was very unusual. Twelve year old Ayame was rather curious as well as she looked at the pictures on the wall and examined the rest of the room. She knew the Hokage as he had come to their stand several times but she had never been in his office before.

The pair walked into the room and sat down in the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Thank you for coming." said the Hokage and he continued, "I received a letter this morning along with a scroll from Naruto-kun. They are both addressed to your store and I was asked to give them to you."

The Hokage handed the letter, which was a thin scroll, to Teuchi and the ramen chef opened it after thanking the Hokage. Teuchi read through the letter as both the Hokage and Ayame watched his reactions. He emotions changed from being surprised to being very sad. Teuchi rolled the letter back up and placed it on the desk. He seemed deep in thought and looked over to Ayame who was looking expectantly at him for an explanation.

"Exactly how much did he send us?" asked Teuchi in a serious voice.

"How much what?" the Sandaime asked confused as to what Teuchi was referring to. Teuchi didn't explain but inclined his head towards the second scroll and the Sandaime started to unroll it.

"Tou-san, what's going on?" asked Ayame expectantly. She had waited patiently and wanted to read the letter or wanted an explanation from her father. She looked between her father and the scroll and wondered what had happened.

Teuchi gave a small smile to his daughter and said, "We're about to find out Ayame-chan." Naruto explained what had happened in the letter, how badly he felt about hurting there business, and how grateful he was for their kindness. While Teuchi didn't want any charity from anyone, he really couldn't turn down a gift for a better future for himself and his daughter, and Naruto wasn't just anyone or a typical customer. He just wondered exactly how much money Naruto had sent them. The boy had only used the word 'enough' in his letter and mentioned Teuchi and Ayame being able to fulfill both of their dreams.

The Sandaime had finished unrolling the second scroll to find a very well made storage scroll. Seeing as neither Ichiraku could use chakra, he performed the necessary seal and released the storage seal. A poof of smoke obscured everyone's vision for a moment. As it dissipated, a large stack of Ryo was revealed. Ayame gasped as she had never seen so much money before and Teuchi sat open mouthed in shock.

The Sandaime was rather shocked as well and his pipe fell out of his mouth. He knew Naruto had been doing solo missions but there was no way he could have come up with this much money. The Hokage now knew what Teuchi had been so serious about. Naruto had apparently decided that he owed the Ichiraku's a debt and had made good on that perceived debt. 'That must be...at least ten million Ryo.' the Hokage thought. 'What exactly have he and Shakky been up to. Do I even want to know?'

"Who's money is that Tou-san?" Ayame asked as she turned to her shocked father.

"Its...ours Ayame-chan." Teuchi replied as he still had some trouble wrapping his head around just how much money Naruto had sent them. Ayame merely stared at her father and tried to understand what he had just said.

Teuchi was still very dazed himself. He had always tried to hide any problems that their ramen stand may have been having because they served Naruto when no other restaurant in Konoha would. He had nothing against the boy and served every customer that came to his stand. Naruto felt that he owed them for hurting their business, however it really didn't amount to this much money. The thought of sending the money back or at least some of it back crossed his mind but it would be rather insulting to Naruto and they could use the money.

Naruto's letter had mentioned building a nice restaurant, getting help from a chef that Naruto had found, and still having enough to send Ayame to a nice culinary school. The whole situation was very surreal to Teuchi. This morning he would never have thought that he would be sent a large sum of money that would change his and his daughters lives forever.

(AN: nearly all the stories I've read where Naruto helps the Ichiraku's they always end up feinting at the sight of money so I decided to make my story different)

x-x

Back at the bar

x-x

"Before I take you to the Fire Temple, there's one last thing that you have to do." said Shakky seriously to Naruto, who was sitting on a bar stool while Shakky stood behind the counter.

Naruto was curious as to what Shakky was talking about. To be honest, he was having a lot of fun being at her bar and wasn't sure if he really wanted to leave to go to the Fire Temple.

Shakky took a scroll out of her jacket and placed it on the table. Naruto was even more curious now as he noticed that Shakky handled the scroll with care. He waited until she unrolled it and released the storage seal. Once the smoke cleared, Naruto instantly recognized the object that was contained in the scroll. It was the urn with Rayleigh's ashes.

"Before Rayleigh died, he wanted to have his ashes spread in a certain location in Uzushiogakure. I don't think I'm up for traveling longer distances anymore, so its up to you to make sure that his ashes go to where he requested they be taken." said Shakky seriously.

Naruto merely nodded. He didn't have to say anything. It was obvious that he would be taking the ashes to fulfill Rayleigh's wishes. It looked like he was going to Uzushio.

x-x

Naruto's pouches and gear was fully checked and it was time to leave. Shakky had made him a map and went over the entire journey with him in detail. Naruto would head to Wave Country where he would use Rayleigh's boat to sail to Uzushio which wasn't that far away. He would follow Shakky's map to where he was supposed to go and then follow the details for spreading the ashes that Shakky had gone over with him. Then he would make the return trip back to the bar and Shakky would take him to the Fire Temple.

It wasn't very difficult and Naruto believed that nothing could possibly go wrong. He said his goodbye to Shakky before heading off in the direction to Wave Country. He hoped to be there in two days time.

Naruto was about fifty feet from Shakky's bar before her voice rang out, "Naruto-Chan, where are you going!"

Naruto stopped walking and looked back at Shakky rather confused, "To Wave Country?" he shouted back, although it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Fufufufu...Naruto-chan, that direction takes you to River Country." Replied Shakky while trying to keep her laughing to a minimum at Naruto's terrible sense of direction.

Naruto blushed slightly at the mistake and then he started walking in the exact opposite direction along the same road he was traveling. He looked at Shakky to make sure he was not traveling in the right direction and she nodded back.

Shakky had decided it would be better for him to travel along the roads and not the trees as there was less chance of getting lost. Obviously she had overestimated Naruto's sense of direction.

Shakky merely shook her head and waved as Naruto passed her bar again and headed in the correct direction. She was starting to rethink whether or not she should go with him but she did think she was getting to old to make the trip and thought it was something that Naruto should do on his own.

x-x

After following the road, Naruto ended up in Port City which was along the shore of Fire Country and actually north of where Wave Country was. He then had to go back the way he came until he saw Wave Country.

Naruto was currently standing along the beach and looking out over the ocean and at Wave Country. This was the first time he had actually seen the ocean and he was taking in the view. He always wondered what why people would take to the seas like in his books but now he could see why.

Naruto noticed that there was no city near Wave and realized he should probably have taken a boat while he was in Port City. It was no big deal though as he started water walking across the ocean. While he walked, he rather enjoyed the breeze and the sounds of the ocean. It was rather calming and it was probably the best walk that he had ever taken.

x-x

After walking through town, Naruto was pointed to the marina by one of the nice villagers. He still had trouble getting adjusted to the fact that they didn't look at him the same way that Konoha villagers did. They smiled, let him enter whatever restaurant or shop that he wanted, and treated him like an ordinary person. Their eyes held no hatred but perhaps even curiosity.

Finding Rayleigh's boat was rather difficult as he had trouble finding the correct pier and which boat he was looking for. He knew Rayleigh's boat wasn't very big but the majority of boats in the marina weren't very big either.

As he was examining one of the piers, he felt someone approach him. "Are you lost?" a deep voice spoke from behind Naruto. Naruto turned to find a man with a piece of rope wrapped around his head and a cross shaped scar on his chin. He had black hair and blue casual clothing. He didn't seem to pose any threat to Naruto so he replied, "No, I'm trying to find a boat."

"Well, I could definitely help, the names Kaiza." and he extended his hand which Naruto shook. In the brief moment when Naruto was supposed to respond, he debated about giving his real name. While bounty hunting he had come up with a different name to give because Uzumaki Naruto wasn't supposed to have left the village. Someone had asked for his name and he blurted out 'Ryuuma' without really thinking. He sometimes even added the surname of 'Silvers' to it because he had been adopted by Rayleigh. Since then he had gone by that assumed name when he was wearing his forehead protector. Given that he currently wasn't wearing his Konoha forehead protector, he decided to give the name that was on the deed to the boat.

"Silvers Naruto." he told the man standing in front of him.

"I haven't seen you around here before, have I?" asked Kaiza.

"No, this is my first time being in Wave." stated Naruto and he was slightly wary of where this conversation might be going.

"So you have a boat here, despite never actually coming here before?" asked Kaiza as Naruto showed him the paperwork on the boat which indicated that he was the owner. Kaiza looked it over and everything checked out as far as he could see. According to the paperwork, the boy had inherited the boat from his deceased grandfather.

Kaiza took Naruto to where the boat was supposed to be and they chatted along the way. Once they reached the dock, they found the sail boat. It was only about fifteen or so feet long and was currently covered with a white canvas to keep the weather out.

Naruto stared at the boat and realized something that he hadn't thought of or accounted for until that very moment that he saw the boat.

Kaiza looked over and saw the boy staring at the boat with a rather confused look on the parts of his face that weren't concealed by a face-mask. For a few moments he thought about what would be troubling the boy, 'Its the right location, and it looks like the right boat from the paperwork.' but one extra thought did pop up and it actually brought a smile to his face as he realized what was wrong.

"You have no idea how to operate a sailboat, do you?" asked Kaiza while smiling.

"Nope, not a clue." responded Naruto without hesitation as he continued to stared at the boat and Kaiza's smile turned to laughter.

x-x

Two days later, back at the marina

x-x

Naruto had stayed with Kaiza and his family while getting lessons on how to handle a sailboat. Naruto had offered to pay for the lessons and for his stay with the family but Kaiza had refused. Naruto didn't want to admit it but it was rather nice living with them for two days. Kaiza's wife, Tsunami, was a great cook and his father in-law, Tazuna, had many different stories. Tsunami's son Inari was interesting as well and very curious about the fact that Naruto wore a mask and was a ninja.

If he was honest with himself, Naruto would have rather stayed for several more days, but he had to complete Rayleigh's final wishes and didn't want to put it off any longer than he had to. The entire family had come to say goodbye to Naruto on the docks of the marina. As he sailed away, they waved at each other.

"What a super kid." said Tazuna and the other's agreed with him. It wasn't until Naruto was some distance away that Tsunami noticed something.

"Kaiza-kun, where exactly is he headed?" she asked.

"He's headed to that island to the Northeast of us." replied Kaiza with a smile.

"Yes, but where is his boat headed?" she rephrased his question to get her point across to her husband.

Tazuna responded before Kaiza could, "It looks like he's headed East, out to the open ocean."

"Shouldn't we do something!" Tsunami asked rather frantically. Naruto was nearly too far out for him to hear them if they shouted.

"He'll be fine." said Kaiza and he continued with, "With the wind conditions the way they are, he'll get caught by the ocean current and pretty much where he wants to."

"Do you think he knows that." asked Tsunami.

"Probably not." replied Kaiza.

x-x

Sailing in the ocean was far better than the practice and training that Kaiza had given him would suggest. The breeze was cool and the sun warmed him. It so calming and distracting that Naruto didn't even think about where he was headed or what direction he should be headed in. He wasn't worried because as soon as he left wave, he should be able to see Uzushio. It was only seven or so miles to the northeast of Wave. At the moment though, he was just content with sailing.

For once in his life, Naruto could go in whatever direction that he wanted. He wasn't just going to go in any direction but he could. It was really a freedom and a choice that he never had before. He was always confined to Konoha and hardly ever able to see what was beyond its walls. Several months before, the farthest he had ever been away from the village was the training grounds just outside the village.

He didn't actually realize that people outside of Konoha wouldn't treat him like the villagers of Konoha. In his mind, he assumed that everyone would treat him the same. From what he had seen of his journeys outside of Konoha, the rest of the world was rather different. Konoha was like a little isolated place that didn't represent anything of what the world was actually like. Sure the cities he had been to had criminals, bandit problems, and many other flaws but the flaws made them more real and made Konoha seem almost fake.

People outside of Konoha didn't already know who he was or care, and no on knew about him being a Jinchuuriki. He didn't have to ignore people or stay away from the crowds. People would actually talk to him and not about him. Any place that he wanted to enter whether it be a business, restaurant, or any shop was open to him. And now, on the open ocean, he was experiencing the most freedom that he ever had in his entire life. He felt that he could go anywhere and be anything that he wanted. The isolation didn't bother him at all and he enjoyed the movement and sounds of the ocean.

This moment was probably the most relaxed and calm that he had been in months. 'No wonder Rayleigh moved to an unnamed and uncharted island. One day I'll have to go to that island.' Naruto leaned back against the back of the boat and stared up at the clouds. They seemed to look more interesting out on the open water. He didn't even realize when he had fallen asleep or bother to care that he should have been attending to the sail.

x-x

A pair of blue eyes opened to find the sky was dark and stars were out. The iris actually seemed to glow a light blue in the darkness. It was something that Shakky had noticed but she was unable to explain it. His eyes just seemed to glow in the darkness. Even if his entire body was hidden in shadow, as soon as he opened his eyes, two light blue circles were always visible.

Naruto was lost in the view of the night for a couple of seconds before he quickly realized that although he could hear the ocean, the boat was no longer moving. Sitting up and getting several kinks out of his back, he looked around.

He was on a beach. The boat was no longer in the water but was several feet away from the water. Evidently he had come in the the tide, gotten stuck on the sand and stayed there after the tide left.

Naruto wasn't exactly sure where he was. He could see in the dark to an extent but it was hard to tell if he was on Wave, Uzuahio, or in Hot Springs Country which was very close to Uzushio. From the dark shapes that he could see, he figured that he could be on Uzushio. He could see a long coast and a separate island in the distance. The coast was most likely Hot Springs Country as it was closer to Whirlpool Country than Fire Country was and the island was most likely Wave Country.

Sitting back down in the boat, Naruto decided to wait until morning before he went to explore and do what he came to do.

x-x

Naruto sat in the sand while watching the sun come up over the water on the horizon. He had seen the sunset before from the Hokage monument but it looked rather different and beautiful to see it on the water. The boat was still in the sand behind him and the tide was starting to come in.

Naruto tied off the boat, just in case it tried to go back out to sea and set about exploring. Uzushiogakure was hidden from view on the ocean as well as from Wave, Hot Springs Country, or Fire Country because it was moved back from the coast just enough that no one could see it. From what Shakky had told him, he just needed to follow a river upstream in order to find the remains of Uzushiogakure. The river was on the Fire/Hot Spring Country side of the island so it wasn't that far away from his current location because he could see what he though was Hot Springs Country.

He traveled less than a mile before finding a river and followed it inland. The trees and rocky terrain eventually gave way to a large open area that was full or rubble and debris. Naruto climbed up the tallest tree that he could survey the area.

The river seemed to run through what was once a large village, nearly the same size as Konoha, and eventually led to large mountains in the background. The buildings were almost all destroyed, leaving large piles of rubble that no one had bothered to try and clean up. There was also evidence of several bridges that once spanned the river.

Naruto jumped down from the tree and began exploring what was once the village where his clan resided and had founded. He carefully walked through debris strewn streets and even ventured into many of the more stable buildings. He held onto a small hope that he would find something that was left behind and that was important to his clan or to the village, so he created a few shadow clones for that purpose. However, everything was destroyed inside the buildings. He wasn't sure if it was from the the destruction of the village or just weather and time.

The symbol of Uzushiogakure decorated nearly all the buildings that he passed by. It was etched or carved into many surfaces and materials. The remains of red paint or inlay were present in each decoration. It seemed to make the entire scene much sadder for him. If not for the symbols, the rubble could have belonged to any village but it served to confirm what he already knew. After several hours, Naruto decided that he needed to get going and pulled out the map that Shakky had given him.

The village was named because of the combination of the strong ocean currents and the many coves that the small island possessed. This combination created areas where whirlpools formed and many such areas existed on the island. Naruto was only looking for a specific cove though.

When Rayleigh and Shakky were genin along with their other teammate Shanks, they were known as Team Mito. Their team used to train on a specific training ground that was the place where they met for meetings and trained for many years. The training ground wasn't that big but it was near the coast and had one of the many coves the island was known for. It held a certain significance for all four members of the squad. After Shanks had died, his ashes were spread in the cove and Rayleigh had requested the same.

Now it was just a matter of finding that cove. Shakky had provided a map but Naruto was never good with reading them so she added many different physical features in the area that he should be able to see and hopefully find the right cove. The shadow clones that Naruto created were still around, so he sent them off in search of one of the features that Shakky listed. Naruto waited in the village for one of his clones to dispel which would tell him that it had found something and exactly the path it had took from the village to get there.

Naruto waited on some nearby rubble while his clones searched for the cove. It was quiet and it had been since he started searching the ruins. Naruto let his mind wander and imagined the buildings and village the way it was before. The rubble cleared way and buildings reformed in his mind. He was curious whether living in Uzushiogakure was anything like living in Konoha. 'If I had been born here with the Kyuubi sealed inside of me, would I have been treated differently?' he wondered. He hoped the answer was yes but he could never be sure about that.

He was brought out of his imagination when one of his clones dispelled. It had found the right cove.

x-x

The training ground was overgrown and it was difficult to actually tell what part was just rocky, forested area, and what was training ground. It wasn't until he got past the trees and underbrush that he emerged in the area that his clone had found. It was rather rocky with a small beach. Three training stumps were present farther up the beach in the sand. It was rather nice and surrounded on two sides by rocks, one side of overgrown foliage, and the other of the ocean.

Naruto looked around the entire area and couldn't help but notice that it reminded him of the training area that Rayleigh had found for him outside of Konoha. There were several differences but many similarities as well.

Naruto couldn't begin to imagine how many memories must have been in this place for Rayleigh and wondered if he would be able to have the same memories and experiences with a genin squad and jonin sensei. 'It would be nice. From stories I heard, Rayleigh, Shakky, and Shanks were the best of friends and had many adventures together.' he thought. That was really something that Naruto had always wanted since he had started reading his books; a group of friends to travel with and have adventures with.

Walking up near the water, Naruto removed the scroll that Shakky had given him and released the seal. The urn holding Rayleigh's ashes appeared after the smoke dissipated. Naruto kicked off his shoes and rolled up his pants to above his knees. He then picked up the urn and headed for the water. The water wasn't cold but it also wasn't very warm.

Wading out in the waters of the cove, Naruto removed the the cover of the urn. He really wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't spoken at the funeral and the only words that came to him now were rather simple.

Making sure to stand away from where the ashes would be blown, something Shakky had been rather specific about, he turned the urn over and slowly poured out the ashes, letting the wind carry the ashes out further into the cove.

"Goodbye, Ray-sensei." were the only words that he spoke.

x-x

Konoha, that same day

x-x

Walking down the road, Zeff had just come through main gate of Konoha. He was still dressed in his chefs outfit with the ridiculously tall hat. His steps were even but one footfall sounded slightly different from the other to the trained ear. He examined the village and noticed that it seemed to have an extremely relaxed atmosphere. 'Didn't they just lose an entire clan just a few months ago.' he thought while shaking his head.

One would think the village, especially since its a shinobi village, would have tighter security. No one had even checked him for weapons or make any real attempt to determine why he was in the village. 'One of the gate guards was even asleep. I get the feeling if I start cooking here, all the ninja might end up terribly overweight.' he thought and chuckled.

He knew that wasn't exactly true and that he should never utter the word 'fat' in front of anyone from the Akimichi clan but he wasn't exactly impressed with the laziness he had seen so far. He at least expected someone to notice that his chakra reserves were rather high for a civilian chef or even check him to find that he was carrying a variety of different knives and cooking tools. 'I guess if anyone wanted to sneak into the village, all they have to do is dress up like a chef. If anyone does check or ask, they can just say that they use kunai and shuriken to prepared all their dishes.' and he again chuckled.

The only thing the gate guard, the one who wasn't asleep, was useful for was telling him the location of Ichiraku's ramen stand. Zeff hoped that Naruto had already sent some notice of his arrival so they wouldn't be confused when he showed up. He still had to talk with the owner of the stand and make all the arrangements. Zeff was rather interested in Naruto's idea of two restaurants with one kitchen. It would allow him to make numerous different dishes for different types of customers and would allow each to have their own places.

Zeff had always imagined owning a slightly fancier restaurant that offered pricier food and drink, but that didn't mean that he just wanted to prepare those kinds of foods. From what Naruto had said, Teuchi wanted a more family place which Zeff had nothing wrong with. This would actually allow him to make two completely different types of dishes and satisfy every customer that he could. It was an idea that appealed to Zeff as it was sometime difficult to satisfy certain customers. Many of the wealthier, 'noble', customers wanted more expensive and exotic dishes but Zeff didn't want to cater just to them.

Ideally he wanted a restaurant that served everyone but it just wasn't going to happen. If the food wasn't good enough or fancy enough, then some people wouldn't bother eating there, and if it was too pricey, others would go somewhere else. The difficulty was finding a happy medium. Naruto's idea threw that out the window and allowed for both.

The smell of ramen wafted to his well trained nose and he knew he was headed in the right direction. Turning the street corner, he saw a small ramen stand. It was small but nice and if the smell was anything to go by, and also Naruto's boasting, they had excellent ramen.

x-x

Shakky's bar, several days later

x-x

Naruto made the return trip back from Uzushiogakure and arrived at Shakky's bar. He visited Kaiza's house again before he left and said goodbye to his family.

Shakky noted that he seemed to be rather sad but she had something that would cheer him up. She pulled out an updated copy of the bingo book and placed it in front of Naruto while he was sitting on the bar stool. Naruto looked at the book and wondered what she wanted.

"Check page one hundred fifty six." was all Shakky said.

Naruto flipped through the pages and had no idea what he was supposed to be looking at. Reaching the page Shakky had mentioned he stopped and stared at the profile and picture. Most pictures in the bingo book were actually photographs but this one was an artist rendering. It portrayed a very ugly blonde haired man with a curly whirlpool eyebrow, huge lips, and an odd nose. Naruto's eyes wandered to the bounty which was twenty seven million Ryo and then to the name, which only read 'Sanji'.

(AN: yes this is the same picture as Sanji's first bounty poster, the one that looked nothing like him)

It was at that point that Naruto started laughing as hard as possible. The laughter would sometimes die down but then he would look at the picture and start laughing all over again. At one point he even fell out of the bar stool laughing.

"Where did this come from." Naruto managed to get out after his laughter had subsided.

"Fufufufu...apparently Gentaru wasn't too fond of you winning the money and the necklace so he put a bounty on your head. Its actually rather high for a previously unheard of person. I don't think anyone who hasn't been listed as having ninja training has gotten that high of a bounty in a while."

"But I'm not a civilian." stated Naruto. "True, but he doesn't know that or what you really look like." responded Shakky.

"So I made it to the bingo book." said Naruto but he started chuckling a moment later. He had mixed feelings about the bounty. This really wasn't something that he had ever suspected would happen and as long as he never used that same henge again, no one would ever find the mysterious and suave poker player known as Sanji.

x-x

Naruto and Shakky had left the bar later that afternoon and headed towards the Fire Temple. Naruto was carrying a large scroll on his back and several smaller ones in his ninja pouches. He was hesitant to leave as he really liked staying with his Baa-chan. He didn't like doing all the chores around the bar that she made him do but he liked to stay none the less.

The Fire Temple was supposed to be a hidden location, deep in Fire Country but Shakky knew exactly where it was. In fact, it was only about twenty miles away from her bar and forty miles away from Konoha. Walking through paths that were not listed on any maps and not part of the normal roadways of Fire Country, they arrived at a huge set of stairs which lead to a large traditional looking compound. The double doors were seemingly guarded by two statues, one a Tengu and the other a Yamabushi. Shakky told him that the Yamabushi was supposed to be a hermit that had supernatural power and the Tengu was part person and part bird of prey.

Walking up to the door, Shakky reached out and knocked on the door. From training in fuinjutsu, Naruto could feel that there was some type of barrier on the door that protected the entire compound from entry. Naruto thought that no one would be able to hear the knocking because of the barrier but after a small spike in chakra, or what Naruto thought was chakra, the door opened and allowed them entrance.

They were greeted by a elderly monk, perhaps in his sixties or seventies that looked at Shakky slightly with disdain. This made Naruto Naruto wondered why a monk would look at his Baa-chan like that but Shakky just smiled at the monk and removed an envelope from her jacket. She handed it to the monk and he opened it. His face changed to one of deep embarrassment and a scowl, then he spoke. "I am allowing him entry but the boy must prove himself worthy of learning here before the rest of the elders and the head of the temple. We don't take people in for short periods of time and he must present a reason or reasons that he should be allowed to study here." stated the monk while giving a few glances at Naruto.

Whatever resentment the man had been feeling towards Shakky, didn't seem to be carried over to Naruto. Now he was really curious as to what was in that envelope. Shakky merely nodded and then pulled Naruto away to talk to him privately.

"Naruto-chan, you'll be here for over two years and you won't be able to leave for any reason without explicit permission from the head of the temple. The temple is protected from a barrier and it must be lowered by one of the higher monks in order for people to enter or leave. I'm sure you'll be able to impress the monks with some reason to let you stay here." said Shakky with a smile.

Naruto wasn't looking very confident though, 'How in the world am I supposed to impress a group of monks?"

Shakky seemed to have the utmost confidence in his abilities and kissed him on the forehead, then left. Naruto was standing with the monk in silence before the man spoke, "My name is Bansai, please stay with me as I lead you to the main temple building. The head monk and the elders are already planning a meeting which starts shortly. I will introduce you at the meeting and tell everyone that I have recommended you for learning here for a short period. As I said before, you will have to prove to the other monks that you are worth of learning here. Its highly irregular to let someone stay in the temple without them becoming a monk-in-training so your reasoning must impress them. Please don't embarrass me." said Bansai and with that he started leading Naruto through the grounds and to the main temple.

Naruto was at a loss for what he wanted to learn or accomplish at the Fire Temple. He was here because Shakky had said she was able to get him admittance and the Sandaime had agreed. He didn't have anything in mind to accomplish or that he could learn here from the only thing that he kept thinking about was what had Shakky given the monk to allow them entry. "What was in that envelope?" asked Naruto as they walked to the temple.

The elder monk stopped and looked at the boy critically then said, "Envelope, what envelope?" He blushed slightly but turned back and continued walking at a slightly brisker pace.

'Damn, now I'm really curious.' thought Naruto.

x-x

While walking, Bansai once again checked the inner pocked of his robes. He would have to destroy the envelope when he returned to his room. The only good part about all of this was that the contents of the envelope would be gone and that apparently the boy had no idea what was in the envelope.

Six months prior was Bansai's seventieth birthday and he had decided to celebrate by leaving the temple for a stroll. He had no idea that he would end up getting incredibly drunk or that a women would sit in his lap at some point during the night who happened to be a stripper. He also never planned on having his picture taken during that exact moment. 'That stripper did have an excellent figure though.' he thought to himself and blushed slightly at the memory.

Getting back to the task at hand, everything had been fine up until he had been contacted by a woman from Crater City who was now blackmailing him. He never would have thought that she would want someone temporarily admitted to the temple in order for the evidence of his moment of weakness to disappear. Now he was walking to the main meeting room of the temple to possibly embarrass himself in front of the other elder monks and head of the temple.

The boy had obviously not prepared any kind of reason or explanation of why he was supposed to be admitted to the temple. Temporary admittance to learn at the temple was strictly forbidden unless sponsored by one of the elder monks and possessing a valid reason. The boy just couldn't spout some nonsense about inner peace or something like that, it had to be something about searching enlightenment or something really spiritual that he was looking for. In short, he had to give a reason that impressed the elder monks and the head of the temple, which was no small task.

The pair passed by several gardens and water features, a large open area for practicing and honing ones skills, and several other buildings that were smaller and adjacent to the main temple. Naruto kept looking back and forth at everything that they passed. It was a lot to take in. He saw numerous monks-in-training practicing with taijutsu or different weapons, or even just meditating. He also noticed that everyone seemed to wear white robes with a blue sash or something along those lines and were bald. 'Does staying here long enough make your hair fall out.' Naruto thought but didn't voice his concerns.

Naruto was thinking about what he was going to say but the only thing he had come up with was inner peace. Hopefully that would do. They proceeded up many steps and into the largest building in the compound which Naruto assumed to be the main temple.

Walking down a hallway, they came to a stop at a pair of large and ornate wooden doors. Bansai turned to him and said, "This is the meeting room, you will first be introduced by myself then you may enter and give your reasons. And for Kami's sake don't say something so cliché as inner peace."

'Shit!' Naruto thought as Bansai entered and he was left to stand and contemplate what else he could possibly say. The problem was that he was currently drawing a blank. What could he say that would sway an entire group of elderly monks and convince them to let him stay here for a while?

Naruto was still unable to think of anything when Bansai came back to usher him into the room. As he entered the meeting room his eyes wandered. The ceiling had very large exposed timber and the room was lit by numerous candles. The end of the room had some type of golden statue that looked to be a woman with many different arms. Sitting in a almost a circle, were several elder monks and one younger monk.

Naruto walked over to the group and Bansai told him to sit so that he was completely opposite the younger monk which Naruto thought might be the head monk of the temple. He was rather nervous as everyone was looking at him and tried to swallow but found his throat rather dry.

x-x

Chiriku had only been the new head of the Fire Temple for a few months. Before that he had been a part of the Twelve Guardians that protected the Daimyo until the current group of guardians were disbanded. A new group of guardians was soon to be formed but Chiriku had his fill and returned to the temple. His skills at the temple's teachings and discipline were well above the other monks near his age and thus he had been honored with the position of head monk.

He had received a letter from the Hokage only a month or so prior. It outlined a request to have Uzumaki Naruto admitted to the temple and detailed the reasoning behind it. Chiriku was unsure of the matter as if the boy did not plan to become a monk at the temple, than the rules were that he could not be admitted. However, one of the monks had informed him about a week ago that he would be sponsoring the boy for admittance. Bansai was an elder monk of the temple and could request to have someone admitted to the temple but they first had to provide valid reasons for staying and learning with the rest of the monks. They couldn't be admitted by saying something as cliché as inner peace.

Chiriku accepted Bansai's sponsorship and waited for the boy to arrive. He was curious as to what the boy would say as he knew about the Kyuubi and had an idea of what the boy was going through. He may accept the boy despite not giving very good reasons but he hoped the boy could provide enough reasoning to satisfy him and the elder monks.

Chiriku watched as said boy entered the room and examined it thoroughly. Bansai motioned for him to sit and present his reasoning. He noticed that the boy was rather nervous.

x-x

'Think. Think. THINK!' Naruto shouted in his mind as he tried to come up with something to say. The room was completely silent and everyone was staring at him. Panicking he thought of a way to stall for more time.

"Could I have a minute or two to...gather my thoughts." said Naruto in a slightly shaky voice.

The monks looked around an one another and nodded in acceptance and the youngest monk spoke, "You may have a few minutes."

'YES!' thought Naruto as his plan worked. Thinking as hard as he could which usually tended to give him a headache, he went over everything he could think of to determine what he could possibly say to sway the monks into letting him stay. A part of him wanted to go back to the bar but Shakky was rather confident in him earlier and he didn't want to disappoint her or make her belief in him unfounded.

Naruto's mind was a jumble of ideas and he turned down everyone until he eventually came upon something that he could say. It was something he had read in his One Piece and Zoro's memoirs books but never fully understood.

"I'd like to learn how to hear the 'breath' or 'voice' of all things." said Naruto as he abruptly broke the silence of the room.

The monks all developed rather curious and contemplative looks. Several seemed to be deep in thought while others were just confused. "Is there anything else." Chiriku asked.

Naruto thought about it and he did remember a few other things, "Yes, I once heard that, 'a sword that can cut anything is not a sword, but a sword that can cut nothing can cut anything.' So I guess I'd like to learn how to be able to cut nothing with a sword." Naruto said as he was still rather confused about the saying.

Getting another idea, "Also, I'd like to learn how to let go of the anger inside me. More than one person tells me that I just bottle everything up and I guess I wanted to know if there was a better way to deal with it." finished Naruto.

The monks looked at each other and then Chiriku spoke, "Could you please wait outside while we make our final decision." it was more of a statement than a question and Naruto nodded while getting up and exiting the room.

The room was silent for a moment but then the monks began talking amongst themselves. This went on until Chiriku cleared his throat to speak, "I think I speak for everyone when I say that it was very surprising to hear what he had to say. I'd like to discuss what he said. I myself was curious as to his first two reasons. I wish to let the floor be open to anyone else who can perhaps better explain." stated Chiriku and he looked around.

One of the elders cleared his throat and began in a scratchy voice, "I believe that the boy speaks of a very old teaching that is no longer taught and hasn't been for quite some time. I only know about from reading some very old texts. It is a belief that a person can find a form on enlightenment when they are able to hear the voices or breath of all things. This refers to nature and both living and nonliving objects. If I can remember correctly, a person who is able to do this can actually tell what someone is going to do next and even learn things about inanimate objects. I believe an example of this was a monk looking out into a rain storm while inside a temple. Because he could hear the 'breath' of the rain, he could tell where all of the drops were going to fall while not paying attention to the sky or trying to track the path of any of the droplets with his eyes."

The monk's speech had everyone's full attention as no one else had ever heard of this story or teaching and were very intrigued. "Does the text that you read state how one can go about accomplishing such a skill." asked another one of the monks and they all turned to monk who had answered Chiriku's question. "I don't remember if it did or not, its been so long since I first read it. I have a feeling that it is something that would take a lifetime to learn though. However, I should be able to find it again in the library, if he is admitted to the temple." the monk added at the end the other monks nodded at this.

One of the tasks entrusted to the Fire Temple was the safe keeping of many different scrolls and records. They were kept safely tucked away in a library of sorts deep in the underground areas of the temple. The collection was rather large and no one person in the temple knew all that was there. Only the higher ranking monks and the elder monks were allowed to see the documents there.

"The second reason that the boy gave was rather interesting as well, would anyone share their opinion on what could mean." asked Chiriku. He had his own idea of what it meant but wanted to hear the opinions of others.

Another monk indicated that he wanted to speak and all were quiet during his explanation in a soft voice, "I believe it may refer to the the complete mastery of the sword. Specifically that, in the hands of a novice, a sword is just another weapon but in the hands of a master swordsman, even the a normal blade can be become as dull as a regular stick or become sharper than any other weapon. That master has achieved such a level that he can call his weapon a sword. At least that is my take on the saying."

The other monks thought over and absorbed what the monk had said. The Fire Temple didn't teach how to use swords. They mostly taught with a bo staff or stick fighting. Those were really the only weapons that the monks trained with. Thus no one at the temple could really help him learn something like that as none of them had any experience with a sword or with the philosophy of a sword. However, there might be something in the many scrolls that the temple keeps.

They really didn't need to discuss the final reason that Naruto had given for wanting to learn at the Fire Temple, it was something that probably every ninja and even person went through. They had many different techniques and teaching for helping to release and try to let go of ones anger and hatred. They now needed to take a vote and make the final decision.

x-x

Naruto stared at the very sparse room that he would be staying in for the next couple of years. The elders and head of the temple had agreed to admit him to the temple and let him stay for a period of time. His room was pretty much just a mat on the floor for sleeping, a small table, and a few candles to provide light in the room.

Naruto sat on the floor and removed the large scroll that he had been carrying. He was being provided robes to wear so he didn't need much in the way of clothing. The things that he did pack were those that were most precious to him. He placed his four books in a stack on his small table and looked through the storage seals for the item that he most wanted to look at. He unsealed his practice swords that he had, the scrolls he had from Rayleigh, and his fuinjutsu supplies.

He finally found what he was looking for and placed it on the table. It was the memoirs of Roronoa Zoro. Naruto had read them several times but this was the first time that he would be planning to use all the information that this book contained. He hadn't gotten a chance to learn anything from the book when Rayleigh was training him as he was just to busy. Naruto also wasn't sure how much he would be able to train with swords during his stay at the temple. He couldn't just start using three swords as he first had to start training his body to properly use the three sword style. Everything that he need to know was outlined in the book.

'Its finally time to start training to use Santoryuu.' and with that thought he opened the book.

Please Review


	14. Chapter 14

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

x-x

Chapter XIV: First Friend at the Fire Temple

AN: **Six months have passed since the last chapter, Naruto is nearing eight years old**

Fire Temple sparring room

x-x

A monk-in-training stood opposite his opponent with a bo staff in his shaking hands. He was rather nervous and really didn't want to spar with this opponent. Several beads of sweat ran down his shaven head. Chiriku's voice rang out through the room when he stated, "Begin."

The monk's opponent didn't hesitate and charged instantly after permission was given. The monk tried to block the strikes but the sheer fury and number of the blows broke any defense he could provide. He was hit several times before he went down.

"Stop!" rang out Chiriku's voice again. After going down, the monk-in-training had actually curled up into a ball to try and protect himself if his opponent didn't stop the onslaught. Chiriku had stopped the fight before things got that far.

Standing across from the downed monk was Uzumaki Naruto. He was wearing the standard robes of the temple but the normal dark blue sash was replaced with a dark green and he had forgone the bandana letting his spikey blonde hair stick up in every direction. He had two fighting sticks in his hands and one in his mouth. They were each a little over two feet long.

He still had on his mask on as he had found a way to manipulate the fabric of the mask in order to properly use three swords without taking the mask off. The key was in sewing fuinjutsu into the mask so that with a small amount of chakra, the mast would split at his lips. The mask was still taught on his face but it opened at the mouth so that he could eat, drink, and use a sword. After he was done, he deactivated the seal and the split in the fabric disappeared. When the seal was active, it looked like he was wearing a mask that had been painted on his face because it conformed perfectly with his lips.

In the six months he had been at the temple, Naruto had become rather well known for not going easy or holding back in any way against his opponents. He had been training his Haki to read all of the opponents that he faced and only the higher ranking monks could still stand up to his speed, strength, prediction, and three practice sticks. He wasn't using the practice swords that he brought with him because the monks frowned upon him using swords (even practice swords) so he was stuck using the sticks, which were a good substitute. They were shorter than the practice swords but it was easier for him to wield them because he was still short for his age. He could add chakra flow to them in order to keep them breaking when he struck his opponents too.

Naruto waited for his previous opponent to be dragged out of the sparring area by the other monks and for his new opponent to get in position. Naruto smirked as he saw who was going to fight him next. It was Sora.

(AN: yes this is Sora from the anime Fire Temple filler arc. My story is going to be a little bit different from how everything was in the anime though.)

The two had actually become fast friends since Naruto came to the temple. Naruto was one of the few children in the temple and they were the same age. Naruto had just recently lost Rayleigh and Sora had also just recently lost his father. There was a group of monks at the temple that didn't like Naruto being there and there was also a group that didn't like Sora being there because his father had lead a coup with other members of the Twelve Guardians several months prior, though no one told Sora that.

Both spent every moment they could training either separately or with each other. They didn't get to spar as often as they liked because neither one would go easy on or hold anything back during those fights. This usually led to something being damaged which the monks didn't appreciate very much.

Unlike the other monks, Sora didn't shave his head but kept his straight bluish gray hair long enough to almost reach his shoulder. His eyes were brown and he was just slightly taller than Naruto and wore the regular robes of the monks at the temple.

"It seems their letting us spar again." said Naruto while smirking and still biting down on the stick in his mouth, yet it didn't seem to hinder his voice.

Sora smirked too, "I've been waiting for a rematch." he commented and he still couldn't believe that Naruto could talk so well with that stick in his mouth.

Both looked to Chiriku to start the match. Chiriku frowned slightly as he was unsure if he wanted the two boys to fight again. The last time they had managed to damage the building and several other monks were caught and injured in the would-be 'training spar'.

Though Chiriku had reservations about letting them spar, he could see that both boys were tensed and ready to fight even if he didn't signal for a match to begin. He really wished they could hold back at least just a little. With a sigh he said, "Begin." and both boys charged as soon as they heard that word.

x-x

In the six months that Naruto had been at the Fire Temple, he had already started learning many different exercises from the monks. They had let him look at the scroll with the information that he had indicated that he wanted to learn during the meeting. The wording in the scroll was difficult to understand as it gave no real method of learning how to hear the 'breath' of all things. It gave some strange exercises which Naruto found himself doing despite how odd they might sound.

One of the exercises involved him sitting in a rain storm or snowstorm and predicting where the precipitation was going to land with his eyes closed and not listening to it. He was also supposed to meditate at a pool of water until he could hear his inner or true 'self' and thus hear the 'breath' of his reflection, whatever that meant. From what the scroll said, that exercise was supposed to give him a better understanding of himself.

Most of what the scroll said was rather crazy. Meditation was also a key element to most of what was written in it and it was usually coupled with an absurd exercise that Naruto couldn't see the benefit of. Naruto was still thankful for being able to see the scroll and he made a copy of it for himself.

Both Naruto and Sora had already started working on wind nature manipulation from the scrolls that Rayleigh made for Naruto. They both found out they had a wind affinity and started following the training listed in the scroll. They had each already been able to split a leaf and had increased the difficulty by trying to cut other items such as twigs and rocks with their wind chakra. They were part of the way through splitting a waterfall and practicing everyday with applying wind chakra to weapons and projectiles. Naruto had also taught Sora the basic academy three, as monks don't learn those ninjutsu, as well as how to use shadow clones. Sora seemed to have much more chakra and stamina than any other child Naruto had met that were close to his age. Sora also seemed to have a good grasp on the concepts of ninjutsu and mastered the jutsus faster than Naruto had.

For some reason, during sparring, Sora could actually predict Naruto's movements just as well as Naruto could predict Sora's. Naruto wasn't sure how this was possible as Sora hadn't had any training in Haki. It turned out that Sora wasn't able to read or predict anyone else, just Naruto. Both found this rather odd but Naruto saw it as an opportunity and started training with Sora on sensing Haki, the same way Rayleigh had done with him. It would also give him a sparring partner with the same abilities that he had. Sora had made a little bit of progress and was determined to try and catch up to Naruto.

(AN: in the anime, Sora and Naruto shared a bond because of what was sealed inside them and I just expanded on it in my story.)

Naruto had already started making an area for himself to train in the methods that were outlined in Zoro's book. He had several medium boulders set up on pulley systems to train with and an area for practicing with his wooden swords. He hard worked rather hard on the weight training and always created a shadow clone to weigh him down when he ran the sprints that were outlined in the book.

Naruto had already broken most of the practice posts that he had set up with his wooden swords and he had started channeling chakra through the swords in order to keep them from breaking too. To increase the difficulty, Naruto had added weight seals to the swords in order to increase the weight of the sword and difficulty of all of his exercises. He went through numerous sword katas each day with the weights on and also performed numerous swings with the weighted swords.

The memoirs contained several drawings of stances and katas that Naruto was using and it also gave good explanations of techniques but it lacked the instruction ability of a proper sensei. The book couldn't tell him if his stance was a bit off or he wasn't exactly doing things right, so it was a little frustrating.

He did have the swordsmanship that Rayleigh had been able to teach him as well as a scroll that Rayleigh had left for him. It outlined the more advanced stances of the style that Rayleigh had started teaching him. Naruto planned to combine everything that he had together.

Following Zoro's training schedule, Naruto had stopped sleeping at a regular time each day. He had started taking naps during the day while training in-between the naps. The naps ranged from minutes to a couple of hours and he trained as much as he could between those naps. This would maximize the amount of training that he managed to get in during the day and night. Naruto found that he actually liked training at night.

Sora had been interested in the books that Naruto constantly read and was actually following some of the training regiments in Zoro's memoirs. He wasn't going to fall behind his friend. When both were old enough, Naruto was going to place some fuinjutsu on them to help train there bodies.

The first seal he had planned wasn't a gravity seal but was more of a resistance seal that would inhibit their movement and was based on altering the density of the air around them to make it harder to move and would give the feeling of moving through water. Naruto had also another seal that would actually slow down a person's reflexes and reaction speed. It would be similar to using weights but training a person's reaction speed instead. A person fighting with slower reactions would get adjusted to it and be able to increase their reaction speed when the seal wasn't active, which was very crucial for using the color of observation and while moving extremely fast. This seal was rather complex though and Naruto wanted to gain a little bit more knowledge and experience first. He also wanted to have Shakky present when he applied it.

Currently they were both going through taijutsu katas with many of the monks from the temple. Naruto had been interested in learning a new style. He had taught Sora to learn the style of taijutsu that Rayleigh had taught him, while Sora helped him learn the style used by the monks of the Fire Temple.

x-x

Sitting a distance away from the practicing monks-in-training, one of the elder monks named Zenza was watching them train. Specifically he was watching Naruto. After the meeting several months earlier, he had the strangest feeling that he had seen the necklace that the boy was wearing before. He searched through many different scrolls in the library before he finally found what he was looking for.

The scroll that he had found showed a picture and labeled the necklace as the Yasakani no Magatama. The picture was rather simple and lacked any coloring but the description was very detailed. Unless the necklace was an elaborate fake or some kind of recreation, then what the boy was wearing was the genuine article. Few people wore a necklace in that style, especially one made of red jade.

It wasn't until Zenza decided to find out for himself that he finally knew the answer. Naruto, as well as all of the other monks, were supposed to meditate regularly. The location where they chose to do so, was up to them. Some preferred to meditate in the temple, others preferred outside. Zenza had found Naruto meditating by one of the many ponds in the temple grounds one day. He hadn't been following Naruto as he wasn't desperate to try and verify the authenticity of the necklace, merely curious, and was content to wait for several months until a situation provided the opportunity to see it up close.

The opportunity had arrive and Zenza had sat next to Naruto while the boy meditated. Before any conversation was started about the necklace, Zenza had noticed that Naruto wasn't meditating properly and was having a difficult time at it. Stopping the boy, he explained to Naruto the proper way to meditate and gave him many tips to use that he had learned over his many years as a monk. During the conversation, Zenza mentioned the necklace and was able to get a closer look at it. Naruto even let him get a closer look at it.

The brief moment that Zenza spent with the necklace told him all that he needed to know. It was the genuine article. The necklace was everything that the description said it was. Six magatama cut from red jade with absolutely no flaws, tool marks, or blemishes of any kind. For lack of a better word, they were perfect. They were also warm to the touch, just as the scroll had described.

Since then, Zenza had debated about telling Naruto what he had found in the scroll concerning the powers that the necklace was said to hold. Over the course of many years, even centuries, the necklace had developed quite a few rumors about it. At one point people believed that it stood for wealth and would bring great fortune and prosperity to anyone that wore it. It was sought after by many people and some even killed to obtain it and its power. However they were very mistaken as to what powers the necklace had. In no way did the necklace stand for or give wealth or prosperity. Those that tried to obtain it for those reasons and sought to increase their fortune, only found bad luck and misery. There fortunes were lost due to various reasons, there illegal activities came back to haunt them and most ended up being ruined by it. Some even lost their health and slowly withered away.

From then on the necklace was believed to be cursed. Few were willing to wear it at all but merely keep it on display somewhere to show off as a status symbol or something along those lines. This belief was only furthered when rumors of one individual who put on the necklace, only to die moments later. Wild rumors had spread after that of people being possessed by it or even horribly burned from touching the magatama.

However, there were examples of others who wore the necklace and did not suffer from any curse. It was among these few that one individual, who was a monk, actually tried to determine everything he could about the necklace. He studied it and its affects in order to figure out what kind of powers it had, if any, or whether it was just rumor and circumstance that lead to the infamy the artifact possessed.

From his studies he found several conclusions and determined that the artifact did indeed have some form of ability. The monk studying it likened it to the belief of karma. A person who wears the necklace, 'gets what they give'. The greedy lost their fortunes, the cruel in turn suffered terribly, a person who enjoyed killing died at some point after putting on the necklace, but it was only the kind person who was able to benefit and they received kindness in return.

This lead the past-monk to believe what the necklace really stood for was benevolence, as only a truly benevolent person could wear the necklace without problems. It could only be genuine benevolence as well. You couldn't try to benefit by purposely being kind to others. The exact words that the past monk had written were, "When you don't seek to gain from it, that is when you will benefit the most."

The past-monk even believed that in some way the necklace was sentient and had a mind of its own. He believed that the necklace liked to test its wearers at different times to see how they would react and what choices they would make. Some individuals actually found themselves in strange situations that they normally would never have found themselves in while not wearing the necklace.

Zenza had thought and meditated on this for many days to try and decide what to do about the knowledge that he had. Should he tell Naruto about it? The boy could be in danger or perhaps be harmed by the necklace in some way. Zenza had no idea what threshold the necklace had. Would a single wrong decision, mistake, or action cause the boy harm from the necklace or did it take many such actions.

Seeking counsel, Zenza went to Chiriku with this information. The head of the temple was much younger than Zenza but his opinions were highly valued and he was in charge of the temple so the necklace was something that he should know about. They talked for a long time before Chiriku made up his mind on an opinion concerning the necklace. Chiriku decided that they shouldn't tell Naruto about the necklace unless it started showing signs of harming him in any way.

Chiriku had said that they would, "Let Naruto enjoy it as an object that he values and not for what it could bring or how he could use it for his advantage."

After the meeting, Zenza was rather relieved about the whole situation and was content to check up on the boy now and then to watch for any signs that the necklace could be having any negative effects on Naruto. So far, he hadn't found any evidence that it was.

x-x

Several days later, during the late afternoon

x-x

Sora stormed into his room and slammed the sliding door shut. He tried to take a deep breath and calm down but it just wasn't going to happen. His breathing was ragged and he was more frustrated and angry then he had ever been.

The past few days hadn't been very easy for him. The previous day, he was headed to one of the meditation rooms when he overhead several monks talking when he passed by one of the other rooms. Normally he wouldn't care about such things but he heard his father's name mentioned and decided to listen. He placed his ear against the thin wall and listened to what they were saying.

The only thing he did hear was the monks slandering his father. They said that he had betrayed the twelve guardians. That he and several of the guardians led a revolt against the remaining members and nearly wiped out the group. The talk continued until Sora got mad enough to open the door and set things straight. He yelled at the monks and told them they didn't know what they were talking about.

He knew his father better than anyone. He only remembered a kind and honorable man and nothing like what the monks were talking about. Unfortunately the talk didn't end there as Sora now received glares from many of the monks at the temple and he had heard others mentioning his father as well. He didn't know why but they were also the same monks that glared at Naruto.

Over the course of the months that they had been friends, Naruto had been the best friend that Sora ever had. Naruto was willing to share everything that he had with Sora. He let Sora look at all of his scrolls and books that his grandfather had passed on to him. Most of the stuff there was clan jutsu and things that should only be seen by members of his clan, yet Naruto freely shared them. He even instructed him on three secret clan techniques which involved the use of 'Haki'.

Sora didn't know why but he had never been more determined than when he was training with Naruto. He didn't want to give up despite being tired and he wasn't going to lose to Naruto. Naruto was probably the one person in the temple that understood him better than anyone else.

Yet for some reason, many of the monks at the temple hated Naruto. Sora didn't know what to make of it. They hadn't known Naruto for very long, yet somehow they already disliked him. It didn't make any sense. He had asked Naruto about it and was told that it 'wasn't a big deal' and that Konoha didn't like him either. Sora then asked why and Naruto was hesitant to respond but did say that, "Its hard to explain. It wasn't anything that I did. Its just something my father did but they hate me for it." That was all that Naruto said and it left Sora more curious than ever.

Now Sora seemed to be getting the same treatment that Naruto had been getting since he arrive. Just thinking about the situation made Sora even angrier. He even heard several monks mentioning his father on the way back to his room.

'They don't know anything about my father! And they don't know anything about Naruto either!' he thought angrily as he pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them. For whatever reason, the anger he was feeling just wouldn't go away. He kept thinking about it and everything got worse. He didn't even notice when his pupils became slits and his iris became red. Or when red chakra started to emanate from his body.

x-x

Naruto was currently napping in his room until he would wake up in a few hours to train. It would be one of two training sessions that he had during the night. His eyes opened when he felt something and he sat up. Following Zoro's training, he had become rather aware of his surroundings even while asleep and had Sora check to make sure by throwing stuff at him and surprise attacking him while napping.

Blue glowing eyes looked around his room in the dark but nothing was amiss in the small room. He extended his senses and felt a very large spike in chakra, it was rather close. It felt malicious but also familiar. He went to his small closet and got his ninja gear. He had a feeling he might need it tonight.

So concerned with the evil chakra and his gear, he never noticed that his necklace was glowing slightly, which it had never done before.

x-x

Naruto made his way to where he originally felt the chakra as it was rather close and he had a nagging feeling that something bad had happened. It was actually just down the hall and he realized in horror that it had come from Sora's room. He opened the door to find a large hole in the back of the room and Sora was gone. The malevolent chakra was still heavy in the room and there were deep gouges in the walls. 'Was there a fight? Did someone take Sora? What happened to him?' were some of the thoughts that went through Naruto's mind. He ran through the hole and went in search of the large moving chakra source.

He tried to find Sora's chakra but found that he couldn't seem to detect it at all. Confused and fearing the worst Naruto doubled his speed. He had learned many times not to enter a situation without caution but this time was different. Something had happened to his only friend and he wanted answers.

Naruto arrive at the source. He was on top of a building looking down on an intersection in the street. Several monks were standing around what appeared to be a person covered in a shroud of red chakra that seemed almost to be boiling and bubbling. The monks appeared to be trying to seal it using a fuinjutsu that Naruto wasn't familiar with. The figure in the center roared out and overloaded the seal. The monks were sent flying back into the surrounding buildings.

It was then that Naruto recognized the figure causing the destruction. His heart sank as he realized that it was Sora. He couldn't understand what was going on though as this wasn't the Sora he had come to know over these past months. 'Why is Sora doing this? What happened to him? Where did that chakra come from?'

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts when he saw Sora heading for the sealed gate. Naruto wasn't about to let his friend leave the temple as he had no idea where Sora would go or where he might end up. There weren't many villages close to the Fire Temple but he had no idea how long Sora would be in this state. He made up his mind and decided to first try talking to his friend.

Naruto lept across a few more buildings before he managed to get in front of the rampaging Sora. The shrouded boy had already destroyed at least one more buildings and was nearing the gate. Naruto jumped down near Sora and said, "Sora! What's going on."

His friend turned but the eyes that he saw were not the ones he had come to know. They were red with a slit pupil and held nothing but blood-lust and hatred. Naruto was taken aback by the eyes and that his friend of six months didn't seem to recognize him at all. 'What the hell?' thought Naruto.

Sora snarled and went back onto all fours while his chakra spiked. Naruto watched as a tail formed behind him and a pair of ears. Sora looked up and Naruto knew in that moment that he had to dodge. Leaping to the side, Naruto barely managed to evade an attack as Sora disappeared in a burst of speed and the wall of the building he was standing near exploded. He had easily seen the attack but it felt different than when he was facing Sora in their spars. It didn't feel like it was Sora attacking him.

Naruto rolled out of the way and tried to think of something. He wasn't willing to hurt his friend but he had to do something. He heard Sora roar again and he watched his friend emerge from the building completely unscathed. Sora then reached back and flung his hand forward. Naruto saw the attack before it happened and jumped to the roof of a building to dodge as a hand and arm, completely made of the red chakra, extended from Sora's real arm and tried to grab him. Another part of a building was destroyed by the attack.

Naruto was still at a loss on what to do. He really didn't have much in the way of ninjutsu and he had a feeling that normal attacks wouldn't work against that dense chakra. He knew fuinjutsu that might work but they either involved making a seal, which he didn't have time to make, or involved making contact with Sora's boy and that cloak might prevent it from happening. Naruto dodged a few more attacks and felt that several monks were headed his way. 'They might be able to help Sora better than I can.' he thought and decided to play decoy to buy time. He created a few shadow clones to substitute with if he needed. He could tell that the chakra coming from Sora was growing and he hoped the other monks would get here in time.

Naruto noticed that Sora seemed to also be getting faster and Naruto was having more difficulty dodging the attacks. The number of clones that he had was slowly dropping as they were destroyed by Sora. A large group of monks arrived at the scene a few moments later. Some tended to the wounded while others prepared some kind of sealing technique. Naruto saw Chiriku and several of the elder monks were among the group and was thankful as he hoped they would know what was happening or have some kind of solution.

Sora ignored the monks and continued his assault on Naruto. The close calls were becoming more frequent as Sora's speed increased. Naruto was still able to predict his attacks but he was now starting to see what Rayleigh had told him about, that he would have to increase his speed and reflexes in order to properly dodge faster opponents and attacks. He could still see the attacks but he wasn't able to get away from them nearly as fast as he could when he first started fighting Sora.

Naruto saw another attack and knew he couldn't dodge in time. Without thinking, he instinctively lashed out to prevent himself from being hurt and hit Sora with a Haki infused punch to the face. Naruto saw the punch start pushing Sora back until he reached a point that Sora's forward momentum was gone and the shrouded Sora was launched across the street into a building. It all happened in a brief moment.

Naruto for his part was shocked at what he had done. He had never used the color of armament that well during any of his training. He was also shocked that he had hit his friend so hard. Naruto wondered if Sora was alright. As if answering his question, the rubble moved and revealed an unhurt Sora with a second tail, 'Yeah, he's fine.' thought Naruto and he refrained from sweat-dropping.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Sora disappear in a burst of speed. He barely received an image of what the attack would be before he was slammed back into the wall of the building he was standing near. The wall had nearly given way and Naruto was actually imbedded into it somewhat.

Sora had him by the throat and was about to deliver a finishing blow with his other clawed hand. The blow wasn't that fast and Naruto predicted the attack but he knew he couldn't block it. He saw his own death. His one hand was trying to stop Sora from choking him and the other hand wouldn't be enough to stop the attack. Chiriku and several other monks were running towards him but they wouldn't get there in time.

Naruto wasn't sure what made him do it but for some reason he attempted one last time to stop Sora. He was flooded with determination and it just came out without any real thought. "SORA! KNOCK IT OFF!"

The effect, however, was far more than he would have thought. Naruto felt warmth but also something leave his body. Sora's clawed hand, which was about to rip Naruto's head off, stopped in its tracks. The wind kicked up around Naruto and large pulse emanated from him. Naruto was looking into Sora's eyes and he saw the eyes had widened and show fear instead of the previous anger and blood-lust. The red chakra shroud receded back into Sora and his eyes went back to normal. For a very brief moment they looked at each other, both with surprise, until Sora collapsed.

Naruto was dumbfounded as he had no idea what just happened. In one moment he was going to die and the next it was all over. He looked around to see what happened. 'The monks must have done something.' he thought but what he found shocked him even more.

Only four of the monks were still standing. Chiriku along with three elders were looking at him in disbelief. Naruto's eyes roamed to the rest of the monks in the area and found that they had either collapsed or were in the process of collapsing onto the ground. 'What happened?' he thought before he felt immensely tired and collapsed to the ground as well. The necklace then stopped glowing.

x-x

Without opening his yes, Naruto sensed his surroundings to find out where he was. He found that numerous people were all around him, arranged in rows and they weren't moving. Many of the signatures felt familiar so he opened his eyes. He found himself staring at the ceiling of one of the large meetings rooms in the main temple building. He craned his head as best as he could to see around the room. He has in what appeared to be a makeshift hospital. He couldn't tell how many people were inured or what their injuries were though.

'What happened,' he thought and tried to remember what he could. He had felt a chakra spike and went to investigate. Sora was gone and he went after the source of the chakra. 'It was Sora.' he remembered. He recalled a fight between them and trying to dodge his attacks. He remembered that he was about to die and then something happened.

Naruto sat up as best as he could to determine if he had any wounds. There were bandages around his neck and on his left hand and arm. Had he been burned by that strange chakra? His body felt incredibly heavy but he didn't know why. He tried to think back to what had happened before he passed out. Something had happened and the monks were knocked out, well, almost all the monks. He had thought that the monks had stopped Sora but he remembered the surprised looks on the faces of Chiriku and the others. They were just as surprised as he was.

After examining all of his memories, Naruto could only come to one conclusion. He had finally released his Haki in an outward burst that had stopped Sora and knocked out nearly every monk in the area. 'Cool' he thought lazily. He was still tired and couldn't display any of the enthusiasm that he normally would have displayed at an achievement such as this.

'I really do have the kings disposition.' he thought and smiled broadly. No words could express what he was feeling at that moment. He would have to finally look at the scroll that Rayleigh had given him for refining his control over his new ability. He would never be able to increase how much Haki he had but he could train in the ability and even release a certain amount or target certain people and leave others unaffected. It seemed he had something else to train in now.

Every thought he had came to a halt though when he came to one realization. 'Where was Sora?' he thought as he couldn't feel his friend in the room. 'Was he hurt by the chakra?'. Struggling to get up from his mat on the floor, Naruto shakily made it onto his feet. He was rather unsteady but he needed to find Sora.

Naruto hobbled to the large doors of the meeting room so that he could search for Sora. However, he was stopped by one of the elder monks, "Chiriku-sama would like to speak with you." it was more an order than a request and Naruto didn't want to anger the monks as they were letting him stay here.

He followed the elder monk into another room down the hallway which was much smaller than the one Naruto was originally in. Naruto felt Chiriku's chakra but his attention was on the room. This room had a strong smell of antiseptic and even some blood. Naruto realized that the room he was in must have been for those that weren't nearly as wounded as the ones here. 'These must be the people that Sora hurt before I fought him.' thought Naruto but he knew that it really wasn't Sora who was responsible, it was whatever that evil chakra was that did this.

Naruto saw that Chiriku was attending to several of the patients. The elder approached and Chiriku stood then walked with Naruto down to a meeting room. Naruto didn't know what was going on but the first thing he was going to ask about was Sora. Chiriku didn't say anything along the way and Naruto understood that he probably wanted to wait until they could talk away from the injured monks and in private.

Chiriku past many meeting rooms as he was taking Naruto to his private room. It was his study and meant for the use of the head of the temple. They both entered the room and Naruto sat in front of a small desk on the floor while Chiriku sat across from him.

There was a small silence before Naruto blurted out, "Is Sora alright?" in a concerned voice. Chiriku nodded then said, "He is in another part of the temple. We have him under observation and are tending to his injuries, which weren't that severe. He should make a full recovery. We've been trying to determine exactly what happened and what caused this incident. Do you know what happened to Sora?" questioned Chiriku.

"No, not really. He wasn't himself and all I could feel from him was hatred and blood-lust which that chakra seemed to be producing. He attacked me and I could tell he didn't even recognize me. The longer things went on, the faster and stronger he became. His chakra level also kept rising. It eventually formed into a tail with ears on his head and then it formed two tails." said Naruto.

Chiriku was silent as he thought about what he had seen of the fight which was just the tail end. He saw that Sora had a single tail and then it formed into two tails after Naruto attacked him.

"What was it that you did that allowed you to attack him and then subdue him? From all the other monks that I talked with, none of their attacks were able to phase Sora in that state. Even trying to seal the chakra failed to work." asked Chiriku as he was very curious. Nearly every monk in the temple was knocked unconscious by whatever technique that Naruto had used. The strangest part was that it didn't even feel like he used any chakra.

Naruto thought about his answer carefully as he really didn't want to give anything away about his abilities. He was willing to tell Sora because he was his friend and he knew Sora could keep a secret. He wasn't sure what Chiriku would do with the information though.

Seeing the boy's hesitance, Chiriku added, "Whatever you tell me won't leave this room but we will have to think of something to tell the rest of the monks. The ones farther away were the first to wake but the ones closer are still unconscious. They will most likely be very curious about it."

Naruto sighed and gave a detailed explanation about what Haki was and where it came from. To say that Chiriku was surprised was an understatement. He had never heard of anything like Haki before. The closest that he could relate to it, based on what he tonight, was the Shodai Hokage and his ability to create trees and subdue biju.

The Shodai was apparently able to turn/convert his chakra into the source of life and create trees from it. He was then able to use his own will power or life-force along with the wood jutsu to suppress the power of the biju. The exact process was rather unclear as it hadn't been done for over sixty years and few were able to see it in action. However, some of the wording was rather similar to what Naruto had just described to him.

(AN: the Shodai also needed the special necklace that somehow responds to his chakra in order to suppress the bijuu, I don't know if was able to suppress the bijuu without the necklace. Yamato stated in canon that without Naruto having the Shodai's necklace that he wouldn't be able to suppress the kyuubi)

Chiriku wasn't completely sure what happened to Sora but had a feeling that he was very similar to or exactly like a Jinchuriki. The chakra that he had tapped into was extremely powerful and malevolent. It could have been from a biju but there was only ever one biju near Konoha for the last sixty years, which was the Kyuubi. It was unknown where the others were but it was improbable that Sora had one of those biju sealed in him. Yet, what other biju could be sealed in Sora seeing as the Kyuubi was sealed into the boy sitting in front of him.

He also had to consider that Naruto and Sora seemed to share some kind of bond that has yet to be understood. They seem to know what the other will do next, which was always evident by the sparring sessions that they had. As Sora worked hard to get near Naruto's level, the matches had become closer and closer. There was also Sora's chakra reserves and stamina to consider. They weren't at the level of Naruto's but they were still far above average for a boy Sora's age.

The only logical conclusion that he could come up with was that a portion of the Kyuubi's chakra had been sealed into Sora at some point. Chiriku also suspected that the only person who could have done it without anyone noticing was probably Sora's father Kazuma. He remembered that Kazuma was quite skilled at fuinjutsu and who else would be able to have enough access to the boy for a complicated sealing.

Kazuma had come to the conclusion that the Hokage and Konoha were not needed as they disturbed the balance of Fire Country. The Hokage and Konoha, while being part of Fire Country, were rather independent and had a large army of ninja. Kazuma believed that the Hokage wasn't needed. He gathered nearly half of the twelve guardians to his side and the group ended up fighting each other. Kazuma was eventually killed by Sarutobi Asuma but evidently he had done something to his son before he died. 'Perhaps it was a result of Konoha getting its Jinchuriki' thought Chiriku.

What ever had occurred, was in the past now. Chiriku just hoped that Sora wouldn't be too alienated by the monks of the temple now. Naruto had come to the temple to escape such treatment and he hoped Sora wouldn't start experiencing the same.

The sun was actually coming up and Chiriku noticed that Naruto's iris', which for some reason glowed light blue in the darkness were actually still glowing while in the sunlight. He found it odd but thought it was just some kind of trick of the light.

x-x

Konoha, a few days later

x-x

For the first time, in a long time, Zeff could honestly say that he was happy. He was standing in the middle of the main street of Konoha in his usual outfit. Many people passed by him but he paid them no mind. His attention was focused on a team of workers that were on some scaffolding and just finishing placing a large sign on a building. The sign read in big letters, 'Baratie'.

As the workers finished putting the sign in place, Zeff couldn't keep a smile off his face and hadn't been able to keep it off the whole day. His cheeks were killing him but he just ignored it. Standing around him were many of the chefs that he had met during his travels. After meeting with the Ichiraku's, Zeff had contacted all of them to let them know about the restaurant and ask if they were interested in working for him. Most of them just dropped everything they were doing and came as fast as they could.

(AN: Zeff's group of chefs is the same as in One Piece, only no Sanji.)

It had taken quite a bit of planning and patience to wait for two spaces to open up, side by side so that they could make the idea a reality. Standing not far off were the Ichiraku's. They were watching a different group of workers place the sign for their restaurant on the building which read, 'Ichiraku's Restaurant and Ramen Bar.'

Teuchi was beaming and Ayame was smiling as wide as she could. She had heard her father talk about owning his own large restaurant along a more traveled street for years and soon it would be a reality. Instead of going to a culinary school, Ayame had just decided to stay and learn all she could from Zeff and the other chefs that would be working in the joint kitchen. She found that she didn't need to go to a fancy school when so many great and experienced chefs were in the same kitchen as their restaurant.

The insides of the building still needed some final touches and preparations but Zeff and Teuchi were both ready to place giant signs reading 'Grand Opening' in front of both restaurants. Teuchi was at first skeptical about the arrangement but found that it would work rather well. He didn't know how to cook many things besides ramen, though he was eager to try, and now he owned his own large restaurant and could learn to cook many different dishes that he could serve happy customers. He had asked for Zeff's advice on a menu and had gotten to know all the other chefs he would be working with. Both he and Ayame had been working on several of the dishes that Zeff had said would be good for a family restaurant and Teuchi was looking forward to trying his own hand at making original dishes for his new place.

He wasn't going to forget the ramen of course but he was eager to expand and try new things. If there was one thing that Teuchi liked, it was satisfied and full customers. Teuchi didn't think he would ever be able to repay Naruto for what he had given them. He planned on letting Naruto eat for free but he knew that Naruto would still want to pay for his meals.

They would only need to wait a few more days before they could open. Zeff already had many people make reservations and was actually completely booked the first few days of being open.

x-x

Fire Temple, A week later

x-x

It had been just over a week since Naruto had seen Sora. They had seen some of each other but hadn't spoken since the incident. Naruto had visited Sora while he was still under observation. A seal had been found on Sora's stomach and Naruto had actually applied a five pronged elemental seal on top of that seal to make sure that nothing else happened. He could tell that the seal holding back whatever chakra that Sora had, was not nearly as good as his own. He might be able to increase its efficiency but would have to look into it.

No one was absolutely sure what was inside the seal but Chiriku had told Naruto of his suspicions about the Kyuubi's chakra. To say that Naruto was shocked wasn't really enough. He couldn't believe that someone else existed with his same burden. It explained why they were able to sense and read each other so well but Naruto had no idea how Sora could have some of the Kyuubi inside of him. He had sent a letter to Shakky asking her about such a thing. She replied to the letter that it was possible that residual chakra after the Kyuubi attack could have been gathered and then sealed into Sora.

It was rather strange for Naruto because of just how alike he and Sora were. They were almost like brothers in a way. However it was rather painful for him that Sora had been avoiding him. Chiriku had asked that Naruto give Sora his space and that he would come and see him eventually. Many of the monks at the temple had already started giving Sora similar looks to how Naruto received in Konoha and it was hard for Naruto not talk to his friend.

Naruto was currently swinging his practice swords at three posts that he had just recently replaced. He had chakra flowing into the wooden swords to make sure they would last for a while and he also added a weight seal to each sword which increased the weight of the sword by a factor of ten. He usually spent this time of day swinging his swords several thousand times against the posts without stopping or slowing down his relentless assault. If he didn't have any chakra running through the swords, they would have broken ages ago. He was starting to miss the few sparring sessions that he and Sora had every couple of days.

Sora entered the training area a few moments later. He knew that Naruto could sense his chakra and didn't bother to try and hide. It was difficult to be here after what Chiriku had said that he had done to the Fire Temple as well as the monks and also his best friend. Sora didn't know what to say. He had lost control of some kind of power that he didn't even know he had and had nearly killed Naruto. He had also nearly killed many of the monks of the temple and damaged several buildings and areas but he was more concerned now with Naruto.

Naruto had every right to hate him and think he was some kind of monster. Many of the monks now believed that and he had overheard them calling him that on several occasions during the previous week. Would Naruto act the same and feel the same way? It wasn't until that point that Sora was willing enough to find out.

He approached Naruto and waited. It didn't take long for Naruto to quit what he was doing, put his swords down, and looked at Sora. Silence ensued between them. Sora had no idea what he was supposed to say. 'Am I supposed to apologize? Will he forgive me if I do?' he thought but was curious about something and used it as a momentary distraction.

"Are your eyes glowing blue during the day now, too?" Sora asked.

"Yeah I can't really explain that at all. Shakky-baachan said it might because of all the training that I've gone through with my eyes and from finally releasing my Haki but she's never seen anything like it before." said Naruto and silence ensued once more. Naruto decided to talk about what Sora was really here for and broke the silence.

"I don't really care about what happened last week. You don't have to apologize or anything and I don't expect you to. You weren't trying to kill me and it wasn't your fault." stated Naruto seriously.

Sora tilted his head down so that he didn't have to meet Naruto eye to eye. His voice was rather low when he spoke but it increased in volume as he talked, "Why? Why don't you care? Most of the monks think I'm some sort of monster. EVEN I THINK I'M SOME KIND OF MONSTER!" Sora shouted at the end and looked Naruto in the eyes. Naruto could see the tears starting to form.

"Meh...then I guess I'm a monster too. So what. Its not your fault and its not my fault. Neither one of us had a choice. You shouldn't let those monks get to you so much. They don't know anything about us. I'm treated exactly the same by most of Konoha." Naruto said and while he was speaking, he lifted his shirt and showed Sora his seal.

To say that Sora was shocked was an understatement. He didn't think there was anyone else that could understand what he was going through.

"So..." Naruto said, "...did you come here to spar, or just to cry?"

"TEME!" shouted Sora and he charged at a smiling Naruto.

(AN: Sora isn't going to have that crazy arm mutation that he had in the filler arc. I still never really understood how that occurred but he won't have it in my story. Sora just has a weaker seal like Garaa's only he doesn't have the real Kyuubi sealed inside him, only some of its chakra, so it has no consciousness or intelligence and doesn't talk to him like it does to Gaara. It is still influenced by emotions though and that is why it affected him so much. At the present, the chakra is sealed off so he can't use it but Naruto might strengthen his seal later on. I wanted Sora to have an actual seal because I thought it was rather silly in the filler arc that he didn't have a seal and his father just put Kyuubi's chakra into his body and thought everything would be fine. Their explanation and idea seemed kind of stupid so I changed it to something that made more sense.)

Please Review


	15. Chapter 15

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

AN: Sorry that it took so long for an update, this chapter was really hard to write and my longest yet. Hopefully its good. Enjoy.

x-x

Chapter XV: Out of the Temple, back to the village

**A year and a half have passed since the last chapter, Naruto is around nine and half years old**

Chiriku's private quarters, during the afternoon

x-x

The ground shook again and rattled his tea cup. Chiriku sighed and once again stopped his letter that he had been trying to write for nearly an hour. It was supposed to be an update about Naruto's progress, that was to be sent to the Hokage. He had been making a report for the Sandaime every six months. Chiriku had to take a break from writing every time the ground shook and the tremors didn't seem to be letting up any time soon. He wished he could just put it off until later but he had already put it off several days this week because of the destruction happening just outside the temple. At least he didn't have to write the reports anymore as there wasn't that much time before Naruto would be leaving the Fire Temple.

He was rather sad to see the boy go as Naruto had made some excellent progress on all things that he had asked to learn at the temple and more. The ground shook again and he revised his previous thought. It might be better for the rest of the monks at the temple if he did go. Looking out his window he saw many birds take flight in the distance and he sighed once again.

The training that the two boys did was so intense that Chiriku had to ask them to tone it down a little as the noise, chakra spikes, and destruction was disturbing the other monks. At the time he wasn't sure if they had actually listened to him or ignored him and after many complaints by the other monks, Chiriku had to have Naruto and Sora move their 'little' training area outside of the temple grounds. The training that they did and the sparring sessions had taken a toll on the surrounding nature and ambiance of the temple and the complaining monks would hopefully leave him alone.

They moved the training area outside the temple and Chiriku believed that all would go back to normal inside the temple. Unfortunately he was wrong as evident by another small tremor and some smoke rising in the distance. Apparently when he had asked them to tone down the noise and destruction, they had actually toned it down. Now however they were training as much as they could and going all out against each other, using everything they had during their sparring sessions. He just sighed again and put his pen down. He would have to finish the letter later.

Chiriku had the feeling that Sora might actually want to leave with Naruto. Sora hadn't had any altercations with the other monks but the situation between him and many of the temple monks hadn't changed in the year and half that had elapsed since the incident. Several monks still thought of Sora as a ticking time bomb and thought it was only a matter of time before he went off again. Others gave him cold stares whenever he got near them. Some still seemed to think that he was a monster which wasn't true in the slightest. In an odd twist, they now actually respected and tolerated Naruto much more than they had before the accident. Naruto didn't really care about it though and had stuck with Sora while mostly ignoring the monks. Their friendship had turned into almost a rivalry of brothers. Neither wanted to admit that the other could be stronger and each had their own different abilities and strengths.

x-x

"Rankyaku!" shouted two voices and two identical arc-like waves of wind emerged from each boy's kick. The attacks sped towards each other, resulting in a gale of wind being released on impact in all directions.

Both boys stopped for a second to glare at the other. Since the incident a year and half earlier, they had started a competition between each other concerning the creation of wind jutsu. Each boy would try and create their own jutsu and then show the other. They would also teach the jutsu to the other competitor. The goal was to come up with the best wind jutsu. Unfortunately, neither had really thought of how to grade or evaluate each jutsu so they had yet to decide a winner.

Both had already mastered their wind affinities but each had their own strength. Sora was better at understanding and learning ninjutsu while Naruto had better shape manipulation. The competition started with each spending a while trying to first come up with a jutsu that they wanted to create. It was far more difficult then they imagined and they could only spend their free time working on it because they were both so busy with temple training and individual training as well.

Naruto had found inspiration in his books. He had been reading the parts where the Strawhats go to Enies Lobby when he had an idea, 'Rokushiki'. It was the style or set of six abilities that were used by the organization known as CP9 in his books. Naruto knew that with all the other training that he had, he would never be able to use the style, especially since he didn't have any information about how someone would train to use it.

Instead, he had the idea of recreating the techniques as ninjutsu, specifically wind jutsu. He had the idea when he read the attack known as Rankyaku (storm leg), which was an attack with the leg that combined incredible strength and speed to send a wave of air at the opponent. He felt that he might be able to make it into a jutsu without needing all of the incredibly difficult training that would have been needed to learn the original technique. He found that Sora was actually creating something similar only with his arm instead of his leg.

After that, it was just a matter of figuring out how to perform a technique like that using shape and wind nature manipulation with his leg. Naruto and Sora had finished their techniques at around the same time and had each taken a few months to create them in their spare time. Naruto presented his technique as Fuuton: Rankyaku while Sora had his technique called Juha Sho (beat wave palm). Upon seeing Naruto's technique Sora had said that Naruto had copied his own technique, to which Naruto replied that he got the idea from his books which was also where Sora had gotten the idea from.

They had exchanged each others jutsu and taught the other how to use it. Sora rather liked using Naruto's jutsu. Naruto could already perform an attack like that using the samurai techniques he had learned from Rayleigh but that was just regular chakra and not the wind chakra that Sora's technique used. Naruto found that Sora's technique allowed him some control of where the attack went after he launched it and he could even have the attack curve or adjust its direction while in flight

They had each set about creating another jutsu as neither was willing to declare the other the winner in the competition. A few months passed before they had each produced another jutsu. Sora had managed to create a rather interesting and ingenious wind jutsu that used a vacuum. The original technique was called Fuuton: Shinkuheki (wind release vacuum burst) and it did what the name implied. It created a vacuum around the user that could protect him from katon jutsu and the technique could push away the air so rapidly from him that it had the power to actually throw back enemies from him.

Naruto was very impressed that Sora had created a completely unique jutsu and actually felt like he cheated this time. He showed Sora his jutsu, which was Fuuton: Geppou (wind release moon step). It was also based on Rokushiki like his first jutsu but this one allowed the user to concentrate and quickly expel wind chakra from their feet with enough force to actually push them into the air and move while in the air. The original technique from Naruto's book involved jumping so fast and with so much force that the user could literally push the air. Naruto had been able to continuously use the technique, as it only had a single seal, in the air and keep himself off the ground with continuous burst of wind chakra. Sora was very impressed but argued that Naruto was getting his ideas from other techniques that already existed and Naruto contested that it was just a jutsu creation and the original technique wasn't even ninjutsu. Naruto did teach Sora the jutsu and Sora taught him his vacuum jutsu.

Since then, Naruto had been trying to create his own original but he had very little luck. He was working on an idea about using the Rokushiki technique called Soru, which was a fast movement technique, and he also had an idea for his own unique idea but he knew it would take a while. He had told Sora about the other Rokushiki techniques in his book and Sora had decided to work on the technique called Kami-e (paper drawing) which he had envisions involving channeling wind chakra through his entire body in order to make himself more agile and easily avoid most attacks. They both knew that it would take a while so neither bothered the other about when they would finish but did ask the other about tips and suggestions.

Besides the jutsu that they had created, each had learned several basic wind jutsu that Rayleigh had in the scrolls he left for Naruto. Sora used them more than Naruto as working with swords left it difficult to use jutsu. The jutsu were mostly C-rank but had a few B-rank and one A-rank jutsu. Wind was a rather rare affinity and even Rayleigh didn't have that many jutsu on it. The Uzumaki clan had been mostly water users so Rayleigh had plenty of those jutsu in the scrolls.

Sora was still trying to acquire the same ability with Haki that Naruto had but he was taking longer than Naruto had. Sora could use the color of observation on other people besides Naruto but was having great difficulty using the color of armaments. Despite this difficulty and Naruto using three weapons against him, Sora was still able to hold his own and the spars that they had usually ended in a draw now. The reasoning for this was due to Sora learning other things to give him his own edge.

Over a year ago, Zeff had sent Naruto a good sized scroll about training his legs and basics of the style he had created. Unfortunately, Naruto was really relying on his swords so he only had time to use some of the training. Not wanting to let the scroll go to waste, he let Sora look at it and from then on, Sora was determined to train in everything that the scroll had. He saw it as his opportunity to be different from Naruto while still being nearly as powerful.

Sora had learned to add wind chakra to his legs so he was confident that he could combat Naruto when using real swords. Naruto either used his practice swords or fighting sticks during their spars so Sora didn't have to worry about it now but was preparing for the future. He wasn't going to fall behind his best friend.

Besides all of the extra training that they did, they both still worked on various exercises at the temple. Both had become far better at meditation and working on letting go of their anger towards the monks in Sora's case and the villagers in Naruto's. Chiriku had separated them from meditating near each other because they constantly tried to out-meditate the other and usually resorted to trash talking to break the others concentration. They had both started learning about the special chakra that the higher ranking monks of the Fire Temple used. It was necessary in order to open and close the sealed gates at the entrance to the temple and both boys were able to use the chakra but not do anything with it. Chiriku said that it would take time for them to be able to use it the way that he and the elder monks could and it required great patience and meditation.

Naruto was starting to get rather sick of meditation until he discovered that he could meditate inside a tree which he found much more relaxing and easy to do then anywhere else. He was still trying to work on the strange exercises outlined in the scroll which concerned learning to hear the breath of all things. All things considering he hadn't made very much progress in it. He guessed it was one of those techniques that required a long time to learn and perhaps real world experience like with his Haki.

Naruto had also started working with the final technique of his Haki as he had been able to release it. The training was going rather slow though as it was difficult to repeat what he had done while facing Sora. Since the conditions weren't the same while he was training, he found it incredibly difficult to release it again. He had done most of the training exercises that Rayleigh had given him in his scrolls but he hadn't been able to release his Haki again like he had done the first time.

It was times like these when Naruto was glad that he had showed Sora the three Haki techniques as well as shared his scrolls on wind manipulation with him. He hadn't shown him any of the Uzumaki created ninjutsu which was mostly water jutsu which neither could really use, or any of the Uzumaki fuinjutus which they were so known for. Naruto was just happy to have someone to train with. However, he couldn't help thinking that perhaps he shouldn't have shown Sora the scrolls and Haki techniques. He meditated on it and thought about it quite often but he just wasn't sure.

x-x

The two boys had stopped fighting each other in the forest, or what was left of the forest. It wasn't because they were tired but another reason altogether. They had started calling it a 'color pause' and it had to do with two users of the color of observation constantly fighting each other. For example, if Naruto was about to attack Sora, Sora would see the attack. However since Naruto and Sora fought so much, Sora had made counters to the majority of Naruto's attacks. Sora would think of countering the attack and Naruto would know that Sora would counter his attack and could sometimes get a brief vision of Sora countering it.

The problem was that Naruto wasn't going to attack if he knew that Sora would counter it and hesitated for a brief moment. Instead of following through with the original attack, he thought of another attack and tested Sora's reaction. This would go on until either one got fed up with the reading the other or one of them found an attack that the other didn't have a counter for yet. This lapse in fighting was the 'color pause' and it was a direct result of each boy having fought the other for so long and knowing so many of each others attacks. It also had to do with each boy possessing similar speed and strength. It didn't happen during every spar but it did happen occasionally. Despite Naruto having an advantage over Sora in terms of experience and training, Sora was working extremely hard to lessen that gap and fought more at a distance during their matches.

The pause usually lasted anywhere from a split second to ten or fifteen seconds. It was really a battle of the mind and Haki instead of the body. Over time, it actually forced each boy to think of a different attacking strategy because all of their other methods were known and able to be countered by the other.

As each boy sifted through possibilities they each came upon a move that neither saw coming. Charging forward, they both attacked. Naruto punched at Sora and Sora kneed Naruto. Unfortunately neither one had bothered to see the entire prediction as both hits connected and both went down. They only saw that the attack would be successful.

Double knockouts were common during these spars.

x-x

Sora had gone back to the temple to get some ice for his cheek and Naruto had stayed to meditate at a nearby pond and try to forget the pain in his abdomen. Naruto had been meditating at a pool of water several times a week in order to try and figure out what the scroll had meant when it said that he could hear the breath of his reflection.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be learning with this exercise. Naruto had on several occasions entered the seal but he never wanted to visit the Kyuubi on any of those occasions. Naruto's views on the Kyuubi were that he was his jailor and nothing more. He had already seen what the Kyuubi's chakra could do to someone when it, for lack of a better term, possessed Sora and had him go on a rampage in the temple grounds.

Naruto didn't want that to happen to him and didn't want to hurt anyone because he wasn't in control. He could end up attacking everyone in his way and damaging the temple. Also he had the entire Kyuubi sealed inside of him and not just some of its leftover chakra.

Sitting down and trying to calm his mind, he closed his eyes and focused on trying to meditate on the pool of water in front of him. He was also trying not to fall asleep which had happened many times before. With Naruto's eyes closed, he never noticed that his necklace had developed a slight red glow to it again.

x-x

Naruto was brought out of his meditation when he heard someone talking to him. "So, we finally meet." said a very familiar voice. Naruto looked around but couldn't find anything. No one was in the area.

"Go to the water idiot." said the voice and Naruto hesitantly moved to the waters edge. Looking at his reflection, he saw that it looked different from what he knew his reflection to be. The mask was black instead of dark green and the coloring of his robes was different. The skin was much paler but most startling difference was the eyes. The sclera and iris were shadowed. Naruto looked at his reflection curiously while his reflection looked to be bored.

"Like I said, so we finally meet." it said in a dull voice. The reflection smirked at Naruto's confusion and curiosity.

"I guess you don't know who I am then?" and Naruto shook his head 'no' at his reflection.

"I'm your inner self. All the hatred that you've accumulated during your lifetime and that you've shoved down into the bottom of your heart or bottled up over the years." stated the dark reflection.

"Oh...ok." Naruto said in a confused voice and continued, "What exactly do I call you?"

"I suppose I could be called Yami." said the reflection with a smirk.

"Are you here for a reason?" asked Naruto and Yami frowned.

"I'm here because you finally made a breakthrough with that training you were doing. Now we can finally talk." stated Yami.

"What would we talk about?" asked Naruto to his dark reflection.

"Ohhh...I don't know, how about that local sports team that won/lost at their latest match/game..." Yami said sarcastically and Naruto sweat-dropped. Yami continued a moment later in a much more serious tone, "What do you think I'd want to talk with you about?"

It didn't take Naruto very long to come up with an answer as it had been on his mind as well, "Konoha." he replied to Yami.

"Very good...got it in one try. Do you know what I would like to talk about concerning Konoha?" asked Yami.

"The fact that I'm going back." stated Naruto and Yami gave condescending smile.

"Exactly. The fact that your stupidly going back to that village. You know the way they look at us. We didn't do anything to them and have the right to exist just as much as they do. We're not some object." stated Yami and when Naruto didn't say anything, he continued.

"They even make up stories just to have something to gossip about and put us down. Yet, you won't even set them straight or make them pay. They don't even want us but they won't let us go anywhere else."

"I know." was the only thing that Naruto said as he looked sadly at his reflection.

"If you know, then why are you going back! Why walk through the streets of that shitty village again? Why would you ever want to fight for them?"

There was a long moment of silence before Naruto gave his answer.

"I have several reasons. I don't know when but at some point Baa-chan is going to die. She won't tell me and I'm too afraid to ask. Every time I visit her bar, she seems a little older than the last time I saw her. She and Rayleigh were on the same squad and were born around the same time. That means its only a matter of time before she dies too. If I left Konoha, where would I go? I could go anywhere but if I got lost or couldn't find my way back, she might die all alone. I don't know if she will ever tell me like Rayleigh did. If I stay in Konoha, then I would be only twenty miles away. Even if I'm on a mission, the Hokage would still keep any messages for me.

If I did leave Konoha, where do you think the first place that the Sandaime would come looking for me at?" he asked his reflection and the dark version of himself didn't need to answer as he knew that ninja would come to Shakky's bar. They might even take her back to Konoha for questioning or interrogation.

Neither thought that she would actually be given a real interrogation and she might even enjoy being questioned by one of the interrogators, but they could have someone try and look at her mind. That was something that Naruto and Yami never wanted. Naruto knew his Baa-chan wasn't exactly a person who liked to stay within the laws of Fire Country and he didn't even want to imagine how many of those laws she had gotten away with breaking. She also knew a lot about him and probably most of the secrets that Konoha had. The Hokage might not want to risk that but there was still a chance.

In a sense, Naruto knew that he was almost trapped. He didn't want to stay but he didn't want to leave Shakky. She was the last person from his clan left and the last family that he had. He may have considered the Sandaime something like a grandfather but he always thought of Shakky more like a mother than grandmother. It didn't matter how much the village hated him, he would stay for Shakky and no one else.

Yami apparently understood as well as he had been silent through the whole explanation. "You still have another reason don't you?" asked Yami.

"I guess wanted something like Rayleigh, Shakky, and Shanks had when they were in their four person team and something like I have with Sora." Naruto said.

"You won't find that in Konoha. You won't find any nakama. You'll only find loneliness and hatred. You'll regret going back for a reason like that. Your better off just sticking with Sora and looking for others elsewhere." stated Yami. He wasn't going to contest the earlier reason concerning Shakky but he was going to contest the other reason.

"I'll make you a deal. If within three years of going back, nothing changes, then Sora and I will leave." stated Naruto.

"Is that a promise?" Yami asked.

"Yes." Naruto replied.

"What if they try to bring you back and force you to help the village?" asked Yami.

"They can try, but they won't succeed." stated Naruto with finality.

Yami smiled and his visage faded in the waters reflection. It was at that point that Naruto opened his eyes and found himself still sitting and meditating near the water. He hadn't moved from his spot. A brief thought crossed his mind about whether that was real or not, but he had a strong feeling that it was.

'That was weird. Maybe I shouldn't meditate by water for a little while. I'll just go back to meditating in a tree.' he thought.

x-x

Six months later, Naruto is ten years old

x-x

Chiriku as well as many of the other monks of the temple were gathered at the temple gate. Their attention was focused on the the figures that were walking away from the temple.

The time had come for Naruto to leave and Sora had decided to go with him. Chiriku was sad to see them go but was also glad that the temple would finally be peaceful. Both boys had learned much since they started training there. Naruto had made great strides in his meditation and dealing with the emotions that he bottled up inside of him. Sora had started working on the same training and worked hard on every technique and training that he could get his hands on.

Both had learned most of the temple fighting style and Naruto had made great progress with his swords while Sora had worked on his legs. Chiriku couldn't help but wonder what both friends would end up doing or being in later years and a small smile formed on his face.

The smile quickly left and turned into a frown when he heard and saw that the boys had started arguing while walking down the steps. The argument grew and they both started fighting, which went on until one lost his balance and they both tumbled down the rest of the stairs. The gathering of monks sweat-dropped at the scene.

'If only they could get along with each other a little better.' Chiriku thought and shook his head while making his way back into the temple. There really wasn't much to see as the boys kept tumbling down the stairs until they would eventually reach the bottom. It was very long staircase.

x-x

Shakky's Bar

x-x

Naruto was rather cautious as he entered his Baa-chan's bar. He had detected a strange chakra signature inside and it was one that he had never felt before. He could still feel Shakky's so he wasn't that worried but it always helped to be on the safe side.

Both boys were still rather sore from falling down the temple staircase. They both blamed each other for the tumble and both cursed the fact that the stairs that led to the temple were so long..

They entered into the bar and Naruto's attention was instantly drawn to the unknown person. She was standing behind the bar and turned to greet them them when they entered. Naruto wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying though as he stared at her while the rest of his body continued walking.

She had long brown hair that framed her face with porcelain skin and rather beautiful brown eyes. She was at least four or more inches taller than him and probably a couple of years older too. He didn't bother with looking at what her clothes were as he thought she would look beautiful in anything. Her lips were moving but his ears just didn't register any sound and as soon as their eyes met he forgot all about anything else.

So engrossed he was, that he never noticed the chair in front of him.

**CRASH**

Naruto stared at the ceiling with his back on the floor. 'Where did the girl go?' he thought in a confused daze and looked down to see that a chair was on top of him. 'Where did this chair come from?' Looking around he saw that Sora was staring at him.

"You idiot. How could you have not seen that chair?" Sora asked and he pulled the chair off of Naruto.

Naruto, however, had turned his head and looked at the girl who was standing near him now. She looked rather concerned for him but she also had a small smile on her face. It wasn't until she repeated herself a second time that he was able to understand what she said, "Are you alright?"

"I'm good." was Naruto's dazed reply as he continued to stare, which made the girl nod her head and the small smile widened a bit.

She turned to Sora and said, "I think somethings wrong with your friend."

"There's always been something wrong with him." was Sora's only response and he stopped shaking his head when Shakky came up behind Naruto. Naruto stopped staring at the girl when a familiar shadow fell upon him. He craned his neck up to see Shakky and he smiled as his Baa-chan. She gave him a once over and noticed the disheveled state he was in and said, "I'll take him in the back and look him over."

With that said, she hooked the back of his color and dragged him into the back room. Naruto didn't fight her and they went through thee door to the storage room. He just kept staring curiously at the girl. When the entered the room, Shakky was about to check him over when he got up and went back to the door. Opening it a crack, he peered through the slit and found the girl again. He really couldn't explain it but there was just something about her that made him want to look at her.

Shakky looked at Naruto and instantly knew what was wrong with him. He hadn't hit his head, or maybe he had, but that wasn't what was really going on.

"Fufufufu...Naruto-chan, what are you looking at?" Shakky said with a knowing smile.

"Who is she?" was his response to her question and her smile just widened.

"Ohhhhh...and why is my little Naruto-chan so interested. Are you developing a crush on my new waitress?" inquired Shakky, now with a devious grin.

"N-n-no...of course not...so whats her name? What do you know about her?" he asked and Shakky had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing.

"She might tell you that she's really a boy but don't listen to her. She just likes to mess with people and tell them that to see their reactions." said Shakky and Naruto nodded his head from his vantage point at the door.

"As for her name...you'll have to find out for yourself." she said and before Naruto could react, Shakky pushed him forward through the door and back into the bar.

x-x

Naruto stumbled back into the bar. He managed to remain on his feet and played it off as him tripping slightly over his own feet. He walked over and sat down at the table that Sora was sitting at. The waitress was getting something from behind the bar.

"What's with you?" asked Sora.

"Did you see her?" was Naruto's vague response and Sora just raised his eyebrow.

"What do you mean, 'did I see her?' She was standing right here when you attacked that chair. Quit acting so odd. Your embarrassing to be around." said Sora as his friend was acting really weird for some reason.

Naruto looked back at Sora with a dull expression, obviously Sora just wasn't getting it and couldn't see what Naruto was seeing.

The waitress came back to take their orders but didn't give her name. She was about to walk away when Naruto blurted out, "Whatsyourname?" The words were all said extremely fast and louder than Naruto intended them to be.

The waitress blinked at him for a second but before Naruto could repeat his question in a more reasonable manner, she answered. "My names Haku, and I'm a boy." she said with a smile.

Sora's mouth dropped open and stayed like that as who he thought had been a girl, walked back to the bar and into kitchen. Naruto had completely ignored the the second part of what she had said and just focused on the first part, 'So her names Haku." he thought.

"What a strange world we live in." Said Sora as he broke the silence between them. Naruto just smiled behind his mask as he knew that Haku was really a girl from what Shakky said.

x-x

Haku, along with Shakky's help, started making the orders that the monk and young shinobi had ordered. She had been working at the bar for a couple of days while Zabuza scouted the area. He had been very nervous about working so close to Konoha but the client and owner of the bar had assured him that few, if any, ninja actually came through Crater City or patrolled in the area.

Zabuza had spent several days determining if what Shakky said was true and had only been back to the bar on a few occasions since they came here. They were worried that it could be a trap but the money being offered was too good to pass up and it meant a place to stay.

The owner lived above the bar but the basement actually had several rooms for all of them to stay in. The demon brothers were off doing something in Crater City and neither Haku or Zabuza cared what they did as long as they didn't attract attention or get noticed.

It had been a slow couple of days at the bar. Apparently few people came in and Haku knew why as Shakky had explained the prices to her and it was blatant highway-robbery. She had been traveling with Zabuza for around five years, ever since he found her sitting on that bridge in Kiri.

Haku was cleaning and taking care of the bar for the time being as Zabuza and Shakky hadn't worked out all the arrangements yet for the work that they would be doing for her. Once he finished scouting, they would sit down and work out the arrangements of the deal.

The bar was actually a nice change of pace from living outdoors all the time. Life on the run from hunter-nin wasn't very accommodating and they mostly stayed away from large villages and in remote areas. She didn't mind though as it would all be worth it to fulfill Zabuza's dream.

While she busied herself with some cleaning, Haku thought about the new customers. She was curious because Shakky had gone and sat down with them after they brought the meals. In the few days she had been here, she had never seen customers treated so nicely. They were talking like they had known each other for years and she wondered if they were related. She was also a bit disappointed at the reaction that she received from the one wearing the mask. She expected him to shocked when she told him that she was really a boy but he wasn't. His friend was, and she couldn't help but smile at the reaction she got out of him.

x-x

Shakky sat in a chair next to Naruto as they discussed his future plans. A small knowing smile graced her face as she noticed that Naruto kept giving glances at her waitress. 'They would make an interesting pair.' she thought and put that thought aside for future use.

Naruto was planning to go back to Konoha and Sora was going to go with him. Shakky felt rather sad that Naruto was going to go back but it was the best thing to do for the meantime. He could wander the elemental countries with Sora but they were still rather young to be off on their own. Also Naruto had a horrible sense of direction and a penchant for getting himself into trouble at the drop of a hat.

Naruto and Sora had apparently discussed many different plans for Sora staying in Konoha but they really didn't know what they were going to do. Sora wasn't planning on becoming a ninja of Konoha and would have to find a job. However, Shakky had already planned for that and found Sora a job.

She removed some documents from her jacket and placed them on the table. Both Naruto and Sora quieted down as she did this. "These forms are the lease agreements for both of your apartments in Konoha. I also found a job for you, Sora."

"Wow, you've been busy." Naruto said and Shakky smiled.

"What am I going to be doing?" asked Sora curiously.

"I have a feeling that you'll make a very fine waiter." replied Shakky and Sora looked confused. 'A waiter? Naruto's a ninja and I get to be a waiter?' he thought while feeling rather let down. He didn't want to be a ninja, but even still, a waiter?

x-x

The plan was for Sora to head to Konoha while Naruto had to take care of some other business and then make his way to Konoha in a few days. He planned to go back to Uzushio and see where he spread Rayleigh's ashes. He hadn't been there in two and half years and he felt he should visit there again.

Before he went, however, he needed to talk with Shakky about something. He took another quick glance at Haku before he went to talk with his Baa-chan privately.

Naruto followed her into the back room to talk with her. He still couldn't build up enough courage to talk with her about when she was going to die but this had nothing to do with that.

Shakky knew that Naruto had followed her and wanted to talk. She could tell how nervous and fidgety that he was without even having to look at him. She just hoped it wasn't what she thought it might be about. She really didn't want to tell Naruto like Rayleigh had. It was good to be honest but she just didn't want to talk about it.

She turned around and there was a brief silence between them. Naruto broke it first, "When I was at the temple, I found out that Sora could use Haki to some extent. He could only read me though and no one else though. I started teaching him how to use it and shared some of the scrolls that Rayleigh gave me with him. I just wanted to have someone to help me train and to spar with. I didn't think about it at the time but I guess I shouldn't have done it. They were all things that Rayleigh left for me and the Haki techniques were supposed to be secret techniques of the clan." Naruto said and he looked rather upset about it. He took a short break before continuing, "Do you think Ray-sensei would be disappointed or angry with me?"

Shakky smiled at him. It seemed the conversation was going to be completely different from what she thought it might be. "Naruto-chan, Rayleigh gave you those scrolls so that you would have something to learn and work on after he had passed on. He wanted you to be as strong as you could be and the scrolls were yours to do with as you pleased. Its your choice what you do with them, you are the clan head after all, and are in charge of those techniques and scrolls. If you want to share them with someone else than its your decision. I think he would be glad that you finally found a friend. But if it makes you feel any better, we could always adopt Sora in the clan. Then you wouldn't have to worry about it." she stated with a shrug.

Naruto for his part just stared. He could do that? "I can do that!" he asked.

"Fufufufufu...yes, you can do that. As the clan elder I have no problems with making your friend Sora an honorary member of the Uzumaki Clan. All it takes is a little paper work and signature." stated Shakky and Naruto ran out of the back room, most likely to get Sora.

Shakky gave a small sigh. She was relieved that Naruto hadn't come to talk with her about when her time was coming. Looking toward the door on the side of the room, she smiled slightly.

"If your going to eavesdrop, you need to get a little better at it first." she said and she heard a small sound from the kitchen area, which was in an adjacent room, indicating that Haku had been listening in on the conversation. The young girl had been far enough away from the door to the kitchen that Naruto couldn't tell with his sensor abilities that Haku might have been eavesdropping, but Shakky was far more experienced on such matters.

It caused to Shakky to smile and laugh. She would definitely have to add more stipulations to her agreement with Zabuza. 'Especially if his apprentice turns out to be nearly as interesting as I think she is.'

x-x

The papers had been signed and Sora had left on the road to Konoha. Naruto started heading out too when Shakky's voice rang out and he reversed direction on the road, so that he was now heading on the correct path to Wave Country. He turned back to wave one last time when he saw a ninja come out of the trees and land in front of the bar.

Naruto instantly recognized the man and his sword. It was many years ago, but he could still remember that scary night when he was five and shakky decided to read to him from the Kiri bingo book without Rayleigh knowing. He had nightmares for good month after that. Naruto was going to say something, but Shakky didn't seem nervous at all. They acknowledged each other and he walked into the bar, not before looking in Naruto's direction. Shakky obviously knew who the person was but why would he be going to her bar?

Naruto actually contemplated going back and finding out what was going on. He nearly changed directions when he thought about what could happen to that nice waitress Haku.

x-x

Naruto had a much easier time finding Wave Country this time around as he didn't walk past it. Crossing the watery gap between Fire Country and Wave Country was just as nice as it had been the first time he had made the journey. This time he had done it at dusk. He knew where the marina was so he didn't need to go searching around for it like last time and he only got lost once which he blamed on the darkness. He didn't even need to go through town to get to it and decided not to visit the family who had let him stay with them the last time he was here. It was already late and he didn't want to bother them.

As he walking down to the docks he noticed that for some reason, his necklace was glowing red. He had no idea why it was doing it and didn't have time to think about it as a few men blocked his path. Naruto had already sensed their presence but thought they were just fisherman. Now he didn't think that was the case. They brandished several weapons at him and the lead goon said, "You have to pay the tax to get into the marina."

"Why's that." asked Naruto in a dull tone.

"Because these docks are now privately owned and you have pay to get to your vessel and to use the docks." the same man said and the other two goons that were with him smiled and tried to look more threatening.

"So I have to pay to get to my boat, despite that I have already payed to keep it here?" asked Naruto in a more serious tone.

"That's right, now pay up or get lost!" the man said.

Naruto merely smiled in a friendly nature and said in a cheery voice, "Yeah right, morons!"

x-x

The sounds of gurgling and struggling could be heard from the first pier of the docks. Two of the goons were already beaten and unconscious while the third and leader of the group was being held by his ankle, upside down, while Naruto dunked him into the water off the side of the dock.

Deciding that the man had enough for now, Naruto pulled the man up so that his head was out of the water. "Had enough yet? Wanna tell me who your working for now?" he asked in a serious voice.

The man was gasping for air and spitting up water but when Naruto started lowering him down again when he yelled, "STOP! I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW!" Naruto smiled at him and encouraged the man to tell him everything.

x-x

Naruto sped through the remaining trees as he jumped from the last one onto the top of several warehouses. He didn't remember them being there the last time he was in the country but things do change over time. The goon had told him that someone named Gatou had started taking over Wave Country and bullying the people into submission. Apparently someone had stood against him but that person had just been kidnapped and Gatou was planning to execute him in the morning. It was already late at night and possibly early in the morning, so he didn't have much time.

Naruto didn't have to search the large warehouses as he could feel many signatures up ahead and ran there as fast as he could. Sticking to the side of the building, he looked through the windows to see what was going on. He could see a bunch of people standing around something. One of them was really short and making some long-winded speech, while rest waited. Naruto still had some trouble distinguishing how many people were in the area with just his chakra sensing. It was due to them all being civilians and standing relatively close.

Now that he was looking through the window, he could count nine of them in total. He was about to come up with a strategy when one of the goons moved slightly. From his vantage point, Naruto could now see past the goon and to what they were all looking at. It was Kaiza. He was tied up and one of his arms had been cut off. The short man made a motion and one of the men surrounding Kaiza raised an already blood sword. They were going to cut off Kaiza's other arm.

Naruto didn't think, he just acted.

x-x

As the hired bandit with the sword made to strike, Kaiza was thinking about other things. He didn't regret standing up to Gatou as someone had to do it and he wouldn't let someone like Gatou start taking over Wave Country. He had said that he would fight them with both arms and now they were trying to break his spirit by turning his own saying against him. The pain was excruciating but he was rather detached from it at that moment.

What he did regret was that he would leave Tsunami and Inari all alone. He knew it was hard on her getting over the death of her first husband, who was Inari's biological father, and he didn't want to think about what this was going to do to her and to the rest of his family.

He came back to reality when he heard a thud. However his left arm was still attached and the hired goon in front of him had a kunai sticking out of the side of his head and was falling sideways to the floor.

He could hear the sound of glass falling to the ground and then someone else came into view.

x-x

Naruto's kunai hit what he was aiming for. He smashed through the window and jumped down to where Kaiza was. His foot landed on the face of one of the goons and Naruto felt a crunch underneath his foot as the force of his fall pushed the man's head to the ground.

He drew his tanto and rushed paste another two of the men. He swung his wind chakra infused tanto twice and the lengthened blade met no resistance. Moving on he went after the now retreating man, which he knew was most likely Gatou.

The man was screaming but Naruto paid no attention to what he was saying as he took out two more of his goons. Naruto's tanto passed through them and their weapons. He didn't look back or even think about it. The last two were more of body guards and each brandished a katana.

They looked confident despite what had happened to the others. Naruto wasn't very concerned with them and kept moving forward. The both stabbed at him and both stabbed into him. The smirks left their faces when the body went up in smoke and revealed a log. They started looking around when the explosive notes taped to the back of the log caught their attention and the resulting explosion pelted them with wood shrapnel.

Naruto jumped out from behind some of the many crates in the warehouse and went after the short man who was still trying to run away. The man tried to get the door to the warehouse open but Naruto threw his tanto, which imbedded into the man's hand and trapped him.

The short man screamed and tried frantically to remove the tanto from his hand but it wouldn't budge. Naruto had used normal chakra and part of the tree walking exercise to stick the tanto into the hand and the door. The man would have no chance of removing it.

Naruto was only a dozen feet away and slowly approached. He pulled a kunai from his pouch and prepared to use it. He was about to finish off the pathetic little man when a familiar voice rang out and said him name.

Naruto turned around and found Kaiza, still tied up and remembered what he had actually come here for. He only now realized that the short man he was about to kill was screaming and begging for his life. For a brief moment, Naruto wondered what he would have done if Kaiza's voice hadn't stopped him. However, he stopped himself from further analyzing those thoughts as Kaiza needed help.

He left Gatou where he was and ran back to Kaiza. It was only then that he noticed what he had left in his wake. Eight bodies. They were all dead. There was so much blood and he could smell it so strongly. It was then that he realized that he had blood on him as well and none of it was his. He started to think about what he had just done but blocked the images and realization as best as he could while he focused on getting Kaiza help. He created a single shadow clone to go back and retrieve Gatou.

Naruto reached Kaiza and he could see that the man would need more medical attention than he knew how to provide. Pushing everything else out of his mind, he focused on stopping the bleeding as best as he could before he created another clone to help carry Kaiza.

x-x

Naruto raced through the deserted streets of the village. Everyone was asleep at this late hour. Kaiza directed him to the only doctor in town. Naruto landed in front of the building and banged on the door while he yelled for help. After several seconds, a few lights turned on and a man came to door. He was shocked to see Kaiza being held up by two identical looking boys but quickly got his bearing as he saw the missing arm.

Naruto didn't bring the severed arm as Kaiza had told him to leave it behind. They brought Kaiza to one of the rooms in the back of the small clinic. The doctor had already sent his wife to get a nurse who lived just down the street and told Naruto to sit in the waiting room.

It was while sitting in the waiting room that things finally caught up to him. The events of the night replayed in his mind and he finally realized what he had actually done. He got up and left the clinic, he passed the wife of the doctor who was leading another woman with her but Naruto didn't pay any attention to them.

He walked just outside of the village pulled his mask down and promptly threw up in the woods. He sat down against a nearby tree and tried to get the images out of his head. 'I cut them down like they were nothing, but they weren't nothing, they were people. They might not have been the very good people but they were still living, breathing, thinking people. They had names and perhaps family or friends. It hadn't been an accident this time, my life wasn't really in danger...I killed eight people.' he thought in horror. It was the first time that he had actually killed someone.

Kaiza had been in trouble but was that an excuse for his actions? He couldn't justify what he had done. He hadn't even used any of the Kyuubi's chakra, at least he didn't think he did, so his actions were his own and he wasn't being influenced. Was this what being a ninja was really like? All that training at the temple to help him let go of his anger and he goes and does something like this.

It had been easy. So easy. It sickened him just how simple it had been to kill eight people. He could have fought them without using his tanto. He still would have won and they would be alive. He could have used his Haki but he didn't. All the training that he had been doing to use the last ability of Haki and he didn't even think to use it. It would have been perfect for a situation like that. He could still see the bodies, the faces, and the blood.

Naruto hugged his knees and sat at the tree thinking about everything that had happened. The events kept playing in his head. He still felt sick as well as cold and numb. His hands were shaking and he thought he was hyperventilating. It was in this state that he eventually remembered something. He still had to deal with Gatou.

x-x

Naruto tried to focus on what he needed to do as he headed back to the warehouse. He found that his shadow clone had cleaned up a little and tied Gatou up with ninja wire. He had a very difficult time entering the warehouse as he kept reliving the events of an hour or so earlier. The smell of blood was still strong in the air.

He approached Gatou, knocked him out, then picked him up to carry him. He had decided that he had enough of killing and wasn't going to finish off Gatou. He had something else in mind though.

The man guarding the marina had told him where Gatou was living, which was a newly built house on a different island than the village was on. Most of the islands weren't inhabited as there were so many, so Gatou had chosen one to put his house on. Gatou then drove his yacht to the main island of Wave when he wanted to go there and was safe in his home, especially since he was gaining more power over the country.

Naruto walked across the main island of Wave and crossed the water to the adjoining islands in search of the house while holding a tied up Gatou against his back.

x-x

Gatou was unconscious on the floor of his own office as Naruto sat down behind what used to be the man's desk. It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be to find Gatou's estate. The home was a rather nice mix of a traditional and modern design. As of ten minutes earlier, Naruto had become the richest person in the world and taken all of Gatou's wealth and holdings from him. The estate was now his. It wasn't that hard to do as Shakky had taught him well. He promised Gatou that he wouldn't kill him and in return took everything from the man. The man valued his life more than anything at the moment and signed over everything to Naruto.

As Naruto sat in that chair and behind that desk, in a mansion that was now his, he felt empty. It was almost like the seal on his shoulder, that turned off his senses, had been turned on. He now had more wealth than he had ever dreamed, yet he just didn't care. The only thing he could think about was the fact that he had killed eight people and Kaiza had lost his arm. The ends didn't justify the means.

This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want the money or the holdings. The only reason he had even come to Wave Country was to get Rayleigh's boat and head to Uzushio. In a few short hours, he had forgotten all about that. He just wanted to hurt Gatou as much as the short man had hurt Kaiza and took everything from the business tycoon. Since he was the only one there, he could only make Gatou give the company to him and not anyone else. Naruto didn't even know the first thing about running a shipping business. This entire trip had been a disaster and it seemed that he could do nothing right.

Sighing, he looked through the windows at the great viewed it showed and could tell that dawn was approaching. He decided to head back to the village and take Gatou with him. Naruto sealed up all the papers in the desk. He created a few shadow clones and they went about adding fuinjutsu and barriers to the house. He might not want the money and holdings of the Gatou Corporation, but it was a nice house and he decided to keep it. Perhaps some of Shakky had rubbed off on him after all.

x-x

Naruto walked back to the main island of Wave Country and dragged Gatou back to the village. He really wasn't sure what to do. Something had to be done with Gatou but he really didn't want to kill the man and he said he wouldn't. He had enough of killing for one day; perhaps several years even.

When Naruto reached the village, it was early in the morning, sometime around seven in the morning. He noticed from his vantage point that people seemed to be traveling somewhere. Thinking back, Naruto remembered that an execution was supposed to be held this morning. Gatou had demanded that everyone in the village was to show up for it. He could see some men with weapons herding people in the direction of the warehouses.

Kaiza was the person who was supposed to be executed and Naruto wondered what would happen now. He moved close enough to the village that he could use his chakra sensing abilities. His range had grown in the time he had been at the temple and now it was several hundred feet. Closing his eyes, Naruto focused on looking for Kaiza. The man was a civilian but everyone had chakra and an individual signature.

To his relief, he found Kaiza's signature. It was low but steady, so he must have been stabilized. Naruto didn't know what he would do if Kaiza hadn't survived. Everything he did would have been pointless. Creating a few more clones, Naruto headed in the direction of the warehouses while still dragging Gatou. His clones would discretely knock out the remaining men that were hired by Gatou. Technically they were his men now but he didn't want to get into semantics or try to explain that to them.

x-x

Naruto dropped Gatou to the ground and not very gently either. The man groaned and started to wake up so Naruto gagged him. The man's voice was annoying. Every person that had been hired by Gatou had been captured and knocked out by Naruto's clones.

The villagers of Wave had all gathered in front of a large chain link fence. On the other side of the fence was a post that would have been where Gatou executed Kaiza. It was empty though and the people of Wave were rather confused and scared. When Kaiza had tried to stand up against Gatou, the villagers hadn't supported him. They were regretting that decision now. Yet they were also confused as it was supposed to be an execution but no one was there.

Gatou's goons had vanished. They had been gathering everyone in the village but now they were gone. Gatou himself was no where in sight and neither was Kaiza. Murmuring started among the villagers as they talked amongst each other to try and see if anyone knew more than anyone else.

'What should I do?' Naruto thought as he looked at the crowd. He was hidden from view inside one of the warehouses and still had Gatou along with the other goons he had knocked out with him. Naruto thought about just going out there and giving Gatou to the people of Wave, so they could punish him anyway they saw fit, but then everyone would start asking questions that he really didn't want to answer. He wasn't supposed to be outside of Konoha and he didn't want people to know his name.

As the crowd got more restless, Naruto was about to step out to say something to them when he heard one voice speak up. Looking out one of the windows of the warehouse windows, Naruto saw someone that he definitely didn't expect to see here. It was Kaiza, and Naruto was rather shocked to see him active so soon after losing his arm.

Kaiza was standing behind everyone that was gathered and when he got their attention, they all turned around. "People of Wave. We are no longer under the tyranny of Gatou or his men." stated Kaiza and before he could say anything else, Tsunami as well as his family had come up to see him.

It was a short and happy moment for the family as they were overjoyed that Kaiza was alive. The doctor who had treated Kaiza was standing off to the side as he didn't think that his patient should be moving around at all. The moment was stopped when several people from the crowd started asking questions.

"Then what happened to Gatou?"

"How did you escape?"

"Where are his men?"

Kaiza listened to the questions and was about to respond when he noticed something that hadn't been there before. He was actually standing on top of a wooden crate so that everyone could see him and had only gotten down off of it to embrace his family. By the time he had gotten back up to answer the questions, the view from on top of the create had changed.

"As for how I escaped, I was saved by someone. That same person also took care of Gatou and his men." stated Kaiza and murmoing swept the crowd but before they could ask anymore questions, Kaiza continued. "If you would all turn around, you will find out what happened to Gatou and his men." stated Kaiza and everyone turned around.

On the other side of the fence, they saw all of Gatou's men (save for the dead ones) as well as Gatou himself. The short man was tied to the same post that Kaiza was supposed to be executed on. No on in the crowd could believe what they were seeing as these people weren't there when Kaiza started speaking. Kaiza gave a sad smile. He had seen the boy's eyes after he had killed those men. They were filled with regret.

Despite what had happened, Naruto had still taken out the remaining men that Gatou had hired. It was obvious that Naruto didn't want any credit for saving his life or saving Wave Country. Kaiza had the feeling that the boy was down at the dock and getting his ship ready. It would be the only reason that he would have come to Wave Country but he was glad that the boy did. He just wished that things didn't happen the way they did.

What Naruto didn't think about was that he would be coming back to Wave to dock his boat after he had gone to the island which Kaiza knew he was headed for. The people of Wave were going to be very curious about what happened and even if Naruto didn't want any credit, he would still get it when he came back.

x-x

Cove outside of the remains of Uzushiogakure, the same day

x-x

Naruto had just finished recounting all of the events that happened when he was in Wave Country. He was talking to the waves but he liked to believe that Rayleigh was listening as this was the cove where he spread his sensei's ashes.

The short waves gently washed to short as Naruto sat and watched. He obviously wasn't expecting an answer but he was in deep thought over what had happened.

Was this the reality of being a ninja? Would he have to kill people for a mission, for money, and for a village that wanted nothing to do with him? His answer to first question was yes but the answer to the second question was no. He would leave the village before that would even became a problem. He had liked doing the missions that Shakky had found for him after Rayleigh had passed away. They were interesting and challenging for him. The previous day had been something completely different.

He had so many other options that he didn't even think of when he attacked those men. It was like the chasm incident all over again. He went to the most basic of actions and didn't think of anything else. It was true that he really didn't have the time to plan anything but he still expected more from himself and wished that he hadn't jumped right into the fight. He also realized why it was that he had killed all eight of them. It wasn't completely because of his anger but also how he had been training. Not his training from Rayleigh but the training that he had done with Sora.

He had been training for so long and against an opponent that could read him and counter his movements. Sora was nearly as good as he was and they had grown stronger together. The problem was that he had become so much stronger than the bandits that he used to be wary of. He didn't actually realize how strong he had become. He instinctively had poured wind chakra into his tanto and used it how the jutsu was meant to be used.

When he fought Sora, his attacks were blocked or countered. The men that Gatou had hired were no where near Sora's level but Naruto had attacked them like they were on that level. His anger was mostly the reason why he had killed them but it was also his failure to think and analyze the situation. It was good that he didn't take them too lightly or underestimate them but the result was that he had pretty much butchered eight people when he didn't need to.

When he left Konoha, would he just go around the elemental nations and kill everyone in his path to become the strongest? He hoped that would never happen, especially after what he had experienced the previous day. He couldn't help but be reminded of something that Rayleigh had told him. The man loved to give him lectures on varying topics and Naruto had a very good memory.

Rayleigh had said, "It isn't hard to take someone's life. Its rather simple and there are countless ways to do it. Its harder to defeat someone without killing them. This is especially true when you want to kill that person or believe that they should die and harbor hatred against them. Sparing their life would be incredibly difficult in that situation. Ninja are often paid to kill for the village, for duty, for no other reason than money, and war which spares no one and only breeds hatred.

There are also people in the world who you will believe should die, not necessarily because they have done anything to you but because they will or have done something to others. They're the ones that don't care for anyone, have no empathy, kill for fun, have no regrets, and are consumed by hatred or perhaps greed. Some would say that they are no longer human. No matter if they get a second chance or not, they won't ever change. They definitely exist and will probably always exist. You will eventually cross paths with them.

Sometimes you will have to make a choice that you may not want to make. You can't save or spare everyone and you might not be strong enough to defeat someone without killing them. When you make those decisions, don't lose yourself, or let your decisions eat away at you. Will you kill someone because you harbor hatred against them, just because you want to kill them, or because it is your duty? Its a hard question to answer. Can you live with letting someone that is no longer human go, when you know they won't change or will you stop them now, when you have the chance? Personally I think you should make the decision that you will regret the least, but we seldom get the chance to choose. Its an unfortunate truth of the ninja world. Its full of hatred that never goes away, its just transferred to others."

Naruto had never understood that lecture until now. The people that Rayleigh talked about did exist and he had met one yesterday. There was never anyone that he wanted to kill before. Naruto had thought about beating up many of the villagers on numerous occasions but he had never wanted to kill anyone before. Yesterday, he had wanted to kill Gatou but he had been stopped because of Kaiza's voice. He didn't really want to kill Gatou anymore but he knew that something had to be done. He already regretting killing the other eight people in that warehouse simply because he was angry at them.

He was content that the people of Wave would punish Gatou. It was actually similar to his book, 'The Tales of the Gutsy Ninja'. The book talked about a cycle of hatred that was never ending. That people couldn't understand each other and hatred between them would never stop, especially because of the way that the ninja world worked.

It was at that point in this thinking process that he made a few decisions based on his thoughts, Rayleigh's lecture, and his book. In the future, he would think before he acted and try to not let his hatred rule his decisions and actions. It was too easy to kill people, he knew firsthand now, and therefore he would always try to choose the hard way over the easy way and would only kill when it was absolutely necessary. He would also become so strong that he wouldn't need to kill any of the opponents that he faced in order to defeat them. In doing so, he would create the ability to choose what to do with them and then would make the choice that he would regret the least. He would break that cycle of hatred whenever he could.

Naruto looked to the water and said, "Thanks for listening Ray-sensei. You always seem to know exactly what to say to help me with my problems."

x-x

Near the marina of Wave Country, the next day

x-x

Naruto sailed back to Wave Country the next morning. He would dock the boat and head back to Konoha. Before he went back, there was still one thing that he had to do in Wave Country and he would also check on things and make sure that nothing else had happened with Gatou and his goons.

As he neared the dock his sensing abilities detected a very large mass of people. Looking towards the docks, he saw that nearly the entire village had come out and were standing around.

'I wonder what they're here for?' he thought but then heard them start cheering. He looked around and saw that he was the only boat on the water. He also saw that Kaiza and his family were waving at him.

'AW CRAP!' he thought. Kaiza must have told them what happened. Naruto had grown to dislike crowds from his time in Konoha and now he was headed right for a large one. He wasn't exactly sure what he should do as they were all cheering and not glaring, and happy and not spiteful. The thought of running away or sailing back in the other direction had already passed through his mind. He really didn't want credit for anything that he had done and it looked like they were ready to throw him a party.

Despite his misgivings, Naruto continued on the course that he was headed and docked back in Wave Country.

x-x

The celebration had lasted into the night with Naruto being a guest of honor and hero of Wave Country along with Kaiza. Naruto still felt bad that Kaiza had lost an arm but the man didn't seem to let it get to him and was happy to be alive.

Naruto found it very odd to be congratulated for killing people. It seemed so wrong to him. He didn't let his apprehension show during the party though. He had been constantly asked question after question and found himself answering more and more about himself. Even thing that he had always kept hidden from the village during the beginning of his life. He even took off his mask and left it off for the remainder of the night. Tsunami thought his whiskers were cute while Kaiza and Tazuna just laughed at that.

When the party was over, he had been taken back to Kaiza's house were he was nearly squeezed to death by Tsunami for saving Kaiza. They continued to talk until Naruto thought of something. 'Kaiza won't really be able to fish with just one arm.' It would be difficult for a man who had supported his family to find something else to do when he had been a fisherman for nearly his entire life.

It was also during this time that Naruto realized that he still owned all of Gatou's shipping corporation and assets. He still didn't want them and needed to get rid of them before Shakky found out. If she knew how much money and resources he currently had at that moment, he wasn't sure what she would do and the thought scared him greatly.

It didn't take long before he decided what he would do with it. Removing a scroll from his ninja pouch, he unsealed the contents while the family members watched. He told Kaiza about what had happened and then told him that he didn't want what he had taken from Gatou. A minute later, he signed the entire company over to Kaiza. Tsunami had actually passed out when Naruto said how much money was in Gatou's accounts. Tazuna just spit Saki across the table and Inari was confused as to how much money that really was.

Kaiza had tried to stop Naruto from giving him everything but Naruto just said that it was better than giving it to anyone else and since Kaiza had owned his own boat for so long, that running a shipping business shouldn't be that hard for him. The rest of table sweat-dropped at that but Kaiza did accept as he saw it as a chance to help Wave Country and knew that his fishing days were probably over.

The rest of the night was filled with plans of what would be done with the money. Kaiza planned to change the name of the company and stop all of the illegal operations that were a major part of where Gatou's money had come from. Tsunami and Inari had suggested making repairs and improvements to the town and Tazuna was thinking up plans for a bridge that would connect Wave Country to Fire Country. Naruto just smiled at his seat at the dining room table as he listened to everything that was being said.

It was also at that point that Naruto's necklace stopped glowing red but he didn't notice.

x-x

Konoha, two days later

x-x

Naruto had left Wave the next morning and easily made it past the village security and into Konoha. Rayleigh had taught him the password to get into the barrier and he had his henge so it easy for him to get back into the village without anyone knowing.

He found it strange that being in the village was only a slight inconvenience compared to dealing with killing eight people. Nothing in the village seemed to have changed in his absence. The building were all the same and it wasn't until he passed through one of the back alleys he was taking to get to the Hokage tower that he saw a really nice sign for Ichiraku's Resteraunt and Ramen Bar. He actually ran into a nearby wall because he was so distracted by it.

He had dreams of getting some Ramen for years and once he was settled back into the village, he planned to eat there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. Naruto sneaked past several ninja to get into the Hokage tower and he even made it past an entire squad of ANBU without being noticed.

Heading for the Hokage's office he walked right in the door without knocking. He wondered what he would be doing. Would he be placed on a team? Go back to the academy to sit in for a few years until the group that was his age graduated? Or was it something else?

x-x

Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu were on their way to the Hokage tower. Normally they were stuck on gate duty or some other task but perhaps that had changed. It wasn't everyday that they were summoned by the Hokage. They had a little skip to their step as they marched proudly to the tower.

Many things went through their minds about what the Hokage might want to see them about. A promotion for their hard work? A dangerous mission that required their unique talents? Perhaps he needed their advice on something? Regardless of what it actually was, they both had trouble keeping the proud smirks off their faces.

Both had on the standard ninja uniform and had been chunin for years. Izumo wore a bandana forhead protector and had long straight hair while Kotetsu had spiky hair with a normal forehead protector, a bandage over his nose, and a goatee.

They walked up the stairs of the tower and to the office. As Izumo's hand went to the door, he couldn't stop it from shaking.

x-x

"After much thought, I have decided to place you on a team with more experienced shinobi for now. You won't be able to take the chunin exams for some time though and I wanted you to be placed on team with genin your own age in two years time." said the Sandaime to Naruto. He wanted Naruto to progress in rank but wasn't sure if the boy was ready to be a chunin yet. He felt it was best to put him on a team of chunin and he knew a team of two that weren't doing anything at the moment.

A knock on the door came and two ninja walked in. Naruto had felt them coming and was interested to see who they were.

"Ahhh...just the two shinobi I was hoping to see." said the Hokage with a smile.

'This is the proudest moment of my life.' thought Kotetsu as he and his long time friend Izumo walked through the door and stood at attention. Izumo was thinking similar thoughts but wondered who the kid was. They both greeted the Hokage with a short bow.

"Now...I called both of you here because you will be getting a third member to your team and will be going out on more missions." stated the Sandaime and both chunins eyes widened at the news.

They both were wondering who exactly they would be placed with. Izumo was the first to ask, "Hokage-sama, who will be joining us?"

The Hokage moved his head toward Naruto and both chunin looked at Naruto and then back at the Hokage. It took a moment for them to catch on and they both looked at the Hokage for confirmation. The Sandaime nodded with a smile and both chunin stood still.

'He has no faith in us at all!' they both thought sadly and tried to hold back the tears.

Please Review

AN: I know some of you might not be happy with the arrangements made for Naruto in konoha but I really can't just promote him to chunin because I have many ideas planned for the chunin exam and I can't really use them if Naruto was promoted to chunin. Since it is peacetime, no one is supposed to be promoted early in the village. Naruto only got that option because Rayleigh guilt tripped the Hokage into it. Even Neji and Sasuke who are hailed by the village as being prodegies, aren't promoted early.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

AN: It took a lot longer than I thought it would to write this chapter. Sorry for the wait. To make it up, I made it longer and its my longest chapter yet. Hopefully its good. Enjoy.

x-x

Chapter XVI: This wasn't what I signed on for

**Two years have passed since the last chapter, Naruto is twelve years old**

x-x

Lounging at the front gate of the village were two figures in the booth beside the inside of the gate. They were each sitting in a chair and talking amongst themselves. The conversation ranged from duty, to women, the past two years, to women, and then to their teammate who was being transferred. They had stop talking after mentioning Naruto and just sat in silence while in thought. Both were rather bummed about the transfer since in the two years they had been on a team with Uzumaki Naruto, they had nothing but missions and success. Ever since Naruto had joined them, Kotetsu and Izumo hadn't had to do gate duty at all.

Both were thinking about how it had all started, that day in the Sandaime's office. The only stipulation that they had to follow was not to mention Naruto when talking about missions. They weren't completely sure why at the time, but they weren't suppose to talk about Naruto being on their team to anyone and it was classified as an A-rank secret which was several rankings higher than any secret that Izumo and Kotetsu had known before that meeting.

In the two years they were a three man squad, Izumo, Kotetsu, and Naruto had many different missions. They had done escort missions, delivery missions, and just about every C-rank that existed. They had even gone on B-rank missions too. Some of the missions turned out to be far more interesting then they planned on. They ended up saving a relative of the Fire Daimyo, and actually received medals for it. Naruto had been asked to think about becoming a member of the new Twelve Guardians but politely declined. After that, they had stopped the theft of the Raijin, clearing the name of an innocent genin that had been caught up in the plot of his chunin teacher.

Simple escort missions turned into saving whole towns from bandits or even a few low level missing-nin. Izumo and Kotetsu quickly learned why Naruto had been teamed up with them as his skill level was already surpassing theirs and they had started training harder in order to keep up with their younger teammate. Two years had passed rather quickly for all three of them and it wasn't long before the adventures had to end.

"What are we going to do tomorrow Kotetsu?" asked Izumo to his friend.

"Same thing we used to do every day Izumo. Guard the damn gate." Kotetsu replied and both sighed. They wished that Naruto was back on their team.

x-x

Hokage's Office, at the very same moment

x-x

"So why do I have to be placed on a different team?" asked Naruto to the Sandaime in frustrated tone. He was standing in front of the Hokage's desk in the usual attire that he had worn for a little over a year. He had on a standard dark green pants and blue t-shirt with an orange triangle design on the sleeves. The shirt was thicker than average as it had a layer of mesh sewn into it and the back of the shirt had the symbol of Uzushio. He was still wearing his dark green mask and bandana forehead protector. He had two ninja hip pouches attached to a dark orange and blue designed haramaki which also carried his three swords in special holders. His outfit was completed with a pair of forearm protectors which were just curved and segmented pieces of metal which overlapped and provided protection on the top of the forearm.

Shakky had made the custom sword holders for him and it consisted of three shuriken pouch/holster that were bunched together and angled forty five degrees on the haramaki. Naruto was confused when she had given it to him for his birthday but she showed him that the holders were deeper than anyone would suspect and could even hold a full length katana in them despite only being eight inches tall.

Shakky had explained that it was the same premise that made her bar bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. She didn't elaborate much but only said that it was a dimensional/spatial jutsu that allowed someone to create large areas inside of something smaller. Naruto was amazed as this would mean that when he had three katana, the sheaths wouldn't get in his way when fighting, as only the handles, guards, and a few inches of the sheath would stick out from the holsters at his hip on the haramaki. It was an incredibly jutsu and Naruto asked if he could learn it but Shakky said that it was still rather beyond his abilities.

Naruto had decided to use three of the four Iron Country Samurai swords that Rayleigh had gotten during his travels. He didn't have any katana and neither did Rayleigh so he would have to wait and find some. The samurai swords were short but perfect for him to wield and he could use Chakra flow and his wind element with them. The swords were made so that the blades could double in length with Chakra flow, which was unique to that type of sword. The three short swords fit into the holsters perfectly but he needed Shakky to adjust the depth of the holsters to accommodate shorter swords. The sheaths didn't get in his way and he could fight just like he wasn't carrying three swords on his hip.

During his two years since returning to the village, Naruto had enjoyed working with Kotetsu and Izumo as he compared the two chunin to characters in his books that worked with Zoro for a while when he was bounty hunting. Those characters were Johnny and Yosaku. They were best friends and couldn't be separated. He couldn't understand why he was being moved off their team as they had incredible success on all their missions. In fact, they had yet to fail a mission since they started working together. He remembered that the Sandaime had told Naruto of this two years ago but he didn't think that he would like working with Izumo and Kotetsu so much.

The Sandaime sighed as he explained it to Naruto once again. "I can't just promote you to chunin so you can stay on the same team Naruto-kun." said the Sandaime.

"Why not? I'm easily at chunin level. Why can't you just give me promotion and let me stay?" asked Naruto seriously.

The inhaled and spoke again, "During peacetime I can't just promote anyone to the rank of chunin. They have to at least taken the chunin exam once before I can think about a merit promotion." said the Sandaime.

"Why couldn't I have just taken the exam at some point during the two years I was with Izumo and Kotetsu? I could have just filled in for someone on an existing squad that was down a person." inquired Naruto.

The Sandaime thought before he spoke as there had been squads that planned to take the chunin exams but one person on the team wasn't able to do it or felt they weren't ready to take the exams. The Sandaime had tried to put Naruto on those teams but the sensei of the team always refused because they didn't want the Naruto near their students. The Sandaime could have just put Naruto on one of those teams, despite the wishes of the jonin sensei but he didn't. There was no way that the Sandaime was going to let Naruto take the exams out of the village, so that only left a chance to take the exams in Konoha about once every year.

Villages like Suna never hosted the exams, while Kiri hadn't hosted one in more than a decade. Iwa didn't host exams very often so the only villages that regularly hosted them were Konoha and Kumo. As a result of this Konoha held a chunin exam nearly every year as they were held every six months. Kumo and Iwa rarely ever sent any chunin hopefuls to Konoha, and Konoha and Suna rarely ever sent their chunin hopefuls to Kumo or Iwa. The exam was supposed to ease tensions between the countries and be a substitute for war but it really didn't work very well as it ended up separating the five major hidden villages. There really hadn't been an exam in which ninja from all five major villages had participated in for more than a decade.

"Naruto, there really weren't any teams that I could put you on to take the exams until now. There is an opening in the new academy graduates as there are only twenty nine students in this graduating year. I wanted you to work with a new team for five months until the chunin exams start. If you make it past the first two tests then I'll promote you to chunin and you can go back to working with Izumo and Kotetsu as you'll be a squad of chunin. All you have to do is attend the academy for a week to get reacquainted with the students there as two of them will be on your new team." said the Hokage to Naruto.

Naruto frowned and the Hokage looked at him sadly. He wished there was a better option as he knew Naruto had definitely made a better connection to the village by working with Izumo and Kotetsu. The Sandaime originally thought that it wouldn't work out but he had been proven wrong. He even noticed a change in the two immortal chunins, as they were taking their training more seriously and perhaps if they kept it up, they could finally move up in rank to special jonin.

Naruto took the papers that the Sandaime gave him and left the room to go and change at home. If he was going to be in the academy for a week then he would need to take off his forehead protector. The Sandaime explained that he would be treated as a regular student. Few people in the village actually knew that Naruto was a genin as the Sandaime was able to make the knowledge an A-ranked secret and the ninja that knew about it, weren't allowed to talk to anyone. Probably only a handful of chunin and jonin actually knew of Naruto's early promotion.

The Sandaime wasn't exactly thrilled with the situation but he wasn't supposed to break the rules of the village and had to abide by the peacetime laws. If they were at war, and he hoped he would never have to see the village at war again, then promotions were entirely up to him and the ninja elders. The village was in peacetime though so Naruto would have to take the chunin exams first. He also hoped that Naruto would be able to work with genin his own age and make more connections to the village during his five months on a new squad.

x-x

Naruto went to his apartment to get a new bandana since he wasn't supposed to let anyone know that he had already graduated. He managed to sneak past all the guards at the Hokage tower as well as any ninja or civilian on the way to his apartment. During his short journey, he thought about all that had happened during the two year that he had been back in the village. The village and the people hadn't changed at all but he had definitely gotten stronger and so had Sora.

Naruto had figured out that when he recreated Rokushiki techniques into jutsu, he could also remake many of the attacks of Santoryuu into jutsu as well. Naruto still didn't possess the incredible strength that Zoro had to perform all of the techniques for the Santoryuu style but he found that using wind Chakra, he could recreate the techniques as jutsu. The basis for Santoryuu attacks was from creating compressed air, vacuums, and primarily from incredible strength. Naruto found that he could create the attacks using Chakra and wind manipulation as a substitute for the strength that he didn't possess yet. Naruto would use this method until he became strong enough to use Santoryuu techniques like Zoro could, which might not be for a couple more years. At that point, his attacks would become even stronger as they would use incredible strength combined with chakra and wind manipulation.

Naruto's main focus during his two years of being back in the village was to learn Santoryuu as well as become stronger and faster. He needed the strength to one day use Santoryuu how Zoro had used it and he needed the speed to be able to properly use Haki against stronger opponents. To do this, he had relied on fuinjutsu. Naruto had used a seal that he had found in the Uzumaki fuinjutsu scrolls which would make it harder for him to move. It was created to provide constant resistance for his muscles so every movement that Naruto made was harder than normal. The seal was complicated as it had to be placed on all of the limbs as well as the chest, and neck while also making sure that other muscles were not affected in the same way. It wouldn't be good for Naruto to subject his heart to the resistance of the seal nor any of his other organs. He decided to wait on using the fuinjutsu that was supposed to slow down his reaction speed as Shakky said he should wait a few years until using it.

Naruto had stopped using his practice swords as they could no longer take the stress that he put them through so he had switched to using a single solid steel rod and placing weight tags on it to increase the difficulty while doing practice swings. Naruto had also started using a weight set which he had created with other shorter pieces of steel and the application of weight seals to the ends of the bars. It saved a lot of money as that meant he didn't have to buy any weight sets.

Sora was now learning Zeff's fighting style straight from the source. He spent a good portion of the day working as a waiter and learning how to cook for Baraties. Zeff was difficult to get along with, especially for Sora as they always clashed. Zeff did allow Sora to use a shadow clone sometimes so that he could go out and train more. Sora didn't want the same resistance seals that Naruto had and opted for using leg waits and Zeff made him wear them all the time, even while he was waiting tables. Sora's clothing had also changed because he was supposed to dress in nice clothing to wait tables at Zeff's restaurant. Sora probably hated that most of all because he really hated being around most of the customers of Baratie.

Naruto and Sora always trained at Naruto's secret training ground and they would either spar, train separately, or train together. Training together usually involved something along the lines of Naruto lifting large boulders and throwing them at Sora who would destroy them with a wind enhanced kick. Just like Naruto practiced swinging with a weighted metal rod, Sora practiced kicking with his weighted legs. Both were determined to keep up with each other. Naruto discovered that he had a second affinity for earth while Sora had one for fire and they both worked on mastering their new element. Neither boy had started working on the other affinities yet as they were just too busy and they had yet to complete anymore original wind jutsu because of that same reason. The competition had been put off for a little while but each were still working on at least two new wind jutsu.

Naruto ate nearly every meal in the kitchen area of Ichiraku/Baratie restaurant. An area in the back was made just for him so that he could see the kitchen and not have to sit out in the dining area with everyone else. The only meals that he didn't eat there was when he went to visit Shakky. It turned out that Haku was actually the apprentice of Zabuza but didn't know or want to kno how to use a sword. Naruto was a little sad about that.

Shakky had made some kind of agreement with Zabuza and he was working for her on something which she never bothered to clarify for Naruto. That usually meant that it wasn't legal. Haku had been learning medical ninjutsu from Shakky as well as several other things. Shakky had been teaching Haku her own taijutsu style as Zabuza had never really bothered to teach Haku something like that. Haku apparently had an affinity for water because Naruto had seen her practicing several of the training exercises for a person learning their water affinity.

Seeing as Zabuza was a swordsman, Naruto had taken to challenging him nearly every time that they were both at the bar. Zabuza was usually busy doing whatever he was doing for Shakky so they didn't always cross paths when Naruto came to bar. Naruto quickly found that what he imagined as a fight was very different from how Zabuza actually fought. The first time they had a match, Naruto was soundly beaten in just the first few moments of the match as he wasn't prepared to fight in the mist. After that, Naruto had gotten much better and could actually give Zabuza a challenge. Naruto found it difficult to predict Zabuza's moves as they were in the mist so he couldn't see the attacks and Zabuza liked to use water clones but he managed to adjust.

When Naruto finally figured out how Zabuza was able to find him in the mist, he placed several seals on his body to remedy the problems. It turned out that while Naruto was very stealthy, Zabuza could still hear his breathing and heartbeat so he knew exactly where Naruto was. Using fuinjutsu, Naruto was able to stop the sound of his own heart and breathing. He didn't stop his heart from beating or hold his breath but stopped the sound from being heard by anyone else when he wanted to. He actually surprised Zabuza with that method and nearly won. The gap between their levels was diminishing and it actually slightly unnerved Zabuza. Zabuza knew that Haku was beginning to surpass him because of her bloodline but Naruto was progressing at an even faster rate than Haku.

Zabuza actually found himself being able to train, which was something that he hadn't been able to do since he left Kiri. With training Haku and watching out for hunter-nin, he hadn't been able to train himself very much. He didn't have access to any knew jutsu so he just trained on what he knew to get better. Fighting with Naruto was actually an interesting way to pass the time between the missions that he went on for Shakky. Naruto constantly changed up his methods of fighting him and had gotten rather skilled at evading him in the mist. Zabuza was very hesitant at first to even be around when Naruto was there because he was a Konoha shinobi and should be reporting Zabuza's whereabouts to the Hokage. Shakky told him that Naruto wouldn't rat him out as then Haku would be in danger as well or would have to leave with him. Zabuza had frowned at the answer but didn't worry about Naruto or the boy's allegiance to the village after that.

The only person that Naruto really hadn't had a chance to see since he had been back was Anko. He had tried to find her when he first came back and ended up seeing her at her favorite dango place with several other kunoichi of the village. She seemed happy and Naruto decided not to bother her at the time. Apparently since the removal of her cursed seal, she had been treated better by some of the ninja community but not the civilians. After that, it was hard to catch her alone as she had many different missions and work at the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Division. Naruto just hadn't found a good time to sit down and talk with her and he really had no idea what to say. The only reason he had known Anko was because of Rayleigh and now that he was gone, Naruto just hadn't kept in touch with her, especially when he was at the Fire Temple. He felt rather horrible about it and didn't know what to do.

Coming back to reality, Naruto walked up the stairs to his apartment. Naruto entered his apartment and went to his bedroom. He removed his bandana with the forehead protector on it and exchanged it with one of his other ones. He looked at himself into the mirror and two glowing light blue eyes stared back at him. 'I really don't want to go back to the academy.' he thought as he had already left that place and really didn't want to return to the same exact class that he left five years ago. Despite his misgivings and annoyance, he left his apartment and headed for the academy.

x-x

With the papers that the Sandaime had given him, Naruto knocked on the door to the correct classroom. He had actually been standing in the hallway for several minutes as he really didn't want to go back to this place. Even if there was only a week before graduation.

A teacher came to the door and opened it to see who it was. The man had a dark tan and a scar across his nose. Naruto remembered exactly who it was but didn't say anything as he handed the chunin his papers. The chunin looked them over and then stopped when he saw the name on the papers. His eyes widened and he looked back to the boy in front of him. Recognition formed on the man's face and Naruto repressed a groan. The man looked over Naruto for a minute and then ushered him inside.

Naruto's first impression was exactly the same as the one that he had of the village upon coming back. 'Nothing changed.' he thought as he looked at the same kids in nearly the same seating arrangement as when he had left five years ago. It was enough to make his eye twitch. They were a little older and their clothes had altered but it was the same class. The Akimichi was eating chips, the Nara was getting up from a nap, the Aburame was looking...Aburamish. To top it all off, the Uchiha was still there and looking as emo as ever. He looked to the back of the room and he saw the Hyuuga girl that he had apparently tried to kill or hurt so many years ago. 'Her hair is longer.' he thought as that was really the only change in the room that he could notice.

The chunin teacher, who if he remembered correctly, was Umino Iruka, stood Naruto in front of the class and made an announcement. Naruto ignored it as the last thing that he wanted to do was attract any attention to himself. He felt rather sick and nervous, perhaps he was coming down with, I-Don't-Want-To-Be-Here-Syndrome again.

"...introduce yourself." Naruto heard as he caught the last bit of what the chunin said.

"My names Uzumaki Naruto. You may not remember me, but I remember all of you." said Naruto and he went to take a seat. Iruka just twitched slightly at the introduction. 'Its going to be a long week until graduation.' Iruka thought.

It was at that point that Naruto remembered something that he had forgotten. 'Why the hell did I come in person? I could have just sent a shadow clone. DAMNIT!'

x-x

For the rest of the day, Naruto could feel the stares and glances on his back. Since he had gotten to class when it was already half over, the only seat available was in the very front. Naruto tried not to turn around and use Haki to knock them all out. It was hard, very hard, to control himself. The other members of the class were thinking very differently, at least the few members who could remember Naruto.

'Who's that guy and why does he seem familiar?' thought a confused Kiba and as if reading his mind, Akamaru barked and informed Kiba of who it was. "How can you remember him and I can't?" said Kiba to his partner.

Akimichi Chouji had no idea who the person was until his best friend Nara Shikamaru informed him and about how troublesome it was. Uzumaki Naruto was an infamous and taboo name in the academy and village in general. Shikamaru knew that nothing good could come from this. He had tried years ago to find more information about the boy when they started the academy but kept running into dead ends. His father and mother were tight lipped about it and no one else would say anything other than something negative about the boy and it was never very informative.

Aburame Shino was rather wary of the new student and wondered not only why he was allowed to return to class right before graduation but also where he had been for the past five years. According to his insects, Naruto had an incredible amount of Chakra and more than anyone in the class or perhaps even in the village. It was rather alarming to think that they were the same age and yet Naruto had more than ten times the Chakra reserves that he did. It was difficult to get an exact amount of Chakra that Naruto possessed as his insects were hesitant to approach and kept their distance.

The fan girls of the class didn't really care for the new guy as they couldn't see his face and though it added to the mystery, they were still diehard Sasuke fans. Only Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura could remember Naruto. Sakura wouldn't bother with him and Ino was going to keep an eye on the new guy for now. Mostly because she was wary of him but also because she thought he could be a good object of rumor and gossip in the village.

In the back of the room, Hyuuga Hinata was still sitting with wide eyes as she stared at a person who she thought was gone forever. It had been five years since the boy that had given her encouragement when no one else would had disappeared. She had tried to find out any information that she could but no one seemed to know anything and she was hesitant to ask her father or any member of her clan for that matter. At one point she had thought perhaps her clan was involved with his disappearance and had believed that until this point in time. Obviously that wasn't true now that he had shown up in class and she was relieved by that fact.

She activated her Byakugan to make sure that it was still the same person. Hyuuga learned how to memorize Chakra signatures at a young age with their dojutsu. Looking at the boy sitting in the front of the class, she noticed just how much Chakra was in his body and couldn't believe what she was seeing. Not only did he have far more Chakra than even her father, but the Chakra was constantly spinning. It would spin tighter or become looser and even change direction. It was rather interesting to watch but what confused her was that Naruto didn't seem to be concentrating or focusing with a handseal. Yet he was manipulating his Chakra to such a degree. It was a very interesting display of shape manipulation.

As she watched, Hinata couldn't help but think of her clan's defensive jutsu which was called Kaiten. It was a similar premise only Naruto was doing it inside of his body. The Kaiten involved the user pushing Chakra out through all of the tenketsu in the body and then spinning it incredibly fast to negate both physical and Chakra based attacks. She wondered if practicing the same technique of spinning Chakra in that manner would help her in any way.

x-x

A few days later

x-x

Naruto walked to the Hokage's office to ask the Sandaime a question. He had been asked to perform the clone jutsu during class and to his surprise, when he tried the jutsu, he was unable to produce three clones. He created three dead clones that were on the ground and slightly discolored. Naruto found it rather strange and decided to get an explanation as the academy teachers weren't really helpful and he would rather not ask them for help or advice, especially that chunin Mizuki. Naruto really disliked him and he could easily see the man's hatred of him.

Sneaking past all of the guards and the secretary, Naruto opened the door of the Hokage's office moved to walk into it.

x-x

The Sandaime had been enjoying a nice relaxing break with his Icha Icha as he reclined in his chair and giggled while reading his students work. So engrossed in his 'literature', it wasn't until he felt the Chakra signature nearly at his doorway that he realized that Naruto was outside about to enter his office.

The jumped in surprise and ended up flinging his book into the air. He grabbed for the book and juggled it in the air several times before he manged to get a hold of it. Quickly, he put it in his top drawer of his desk and slammed the drawer closed only to yelp in pain. Looking down he noticed his hand in was slammed in the drawer and removed it as Naruto was entering the room. Naruto had come into his office during academy hours, which he was supposed to be attending.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" asked the Sandaime a little nervously and accusingly but Naruto shrugged then said, "I am in class." The Sandaime rolled his eyes as he knew the boy was most likely using shadow clones to be in two places at once.

"What can I do for you Naruto-kun?" said the Hokage with a pained smile as he leaned back in his chair and tried to forget the pain in his hand.

"When I tried to perform the clone jutsu, it failed." said Naruto when he had sat himself down in a chair across the desk from the Sandaime. The Sandaime raised an eyebrow at the statement as Naruto had been able to create the clone jutsu and had passed an genin exam years ago.

"Show me." said the Sandaime and Naruto got up and performed the jutsu. The same three dead clones that had showed up in class, and caused people to laugh at him, formed again on the floor of the office. Naruto looked rather sheepish as it was very embarrassing to fail a jutsu so badly. Especially a jutsu that he used to be able to perform.

The Sandaime only had to look at the clones for second to know what was going on, "You put too much Chakra in them. Try it again with less."

Naruto again tried but with the same results, three pathetic looking clones. The Sandaime stared at the boy and said, "Did you even put less Chakra in them?"

"Yeah, I put as little as I could." Naruto answered in a confused voice and the Sandaime just nodded.

"How much have you been working on Chakra control?" he asked and Naruto shrugged. He really didn't do that much in the way of Chakra control exercises. "Not really that much. I do Rayleigh saying that I would need to work on it." Naruto admitted sheepishly and the Sandaime smiled. "Chakra control is something that you have to occasionally work on in order to keep it at an acceptable level."

"But I do that Chakra spinning exercise every day." protested Naruto and the Sandaime looked puzzled. 'Chakra spinning exercise?' thought the Sandaime as he knew of the exercise but no one every bothered to use it. It didn't really increase Chakra control, but occasional use could keep the control at a certain level. This of course wouldn't work for Naruto as filtered Chakra from the seal was constantly adding to his own reserves. The result was that the boy's Chakra control was steadily getting worse. Naruto didn't know about the Kyuubi or at least the Sandaime didn't think that the he knew about the Kyuubi and therefore wouldn't know that his Chakra was getting larger all the time at a faster rate than everyone else.

"Naruto-kun, you have to work on Chakra control in addition to all the other training that you do, otherwise you'll continue to get worse." stated the Sandaime and Naruto frowned as that added another thing to his list of exercises to work on.

As the Sandaime watched the boy frown, something that Naruto had said early played over in his mind. Naruto said that he was using the Chakra spinning exercise every day. 'He couldn't be using it that much, could he?'

"Exactly how often do you use that spinning exercise?" inquired the Sandaime.

"Every chance I get." stated Naruto with a shrug. The Sandaim was really looking for a numerical figure of time spent per day so he rephrased the question.

"How much do you use it in a given day?" clarified the Sandaime.

"I don't know. Maybe six or seven hours." said Naruto as he was unsure of the answer.

The Sandaime nearly fell out of his chair. 'SIX HOURS A DAY! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU TEACHING HIM RAYLEIGH?' thought the Hokage in his head.

"How in Kami's name do you use it that much!" blurted out the Sandaime and Naruto responded, "Well, I use it whenever I'm not really doing anything important. Like right now. Baa-chan says I even do it in my sleep sometimes."

'IN HIS SLEEP!' thought the Sandaime incredulously. 'How is that even possible?' was his next thought. The Sandaime quickly sensed the boy's chakra and found that Naruto was indeed using the exercise as he was sitting in front of his desk. Naruto wasn't focusing at all and had apparently learned to use the technique whenever he wasn't doing anything strenuous. It was possible he wasn't even aware that he was using it sometimes.

The more the Sandaime thought about it, the more questions and theories he had. It would explain why Naruto had been less hyperactive as instead of moving around he would just spin his Chakra. The Chakra spinning exercise was supposed to have many different applications. No one could really prove it did those things though. It was said to help shape manipulation, increase a ninja's ability to suppress or even pull forth his Chakra, and even said to increase Chakra reserves. No one was really sure it could do all those things and there were even a couple more benefits that the exercise was supposed to have. The Sandaime had even told his student Jiraiya, when he was still a genin, that the Chakra spinning exercise might help him become a better ninja and increase his reserves. Jiraiya had quit after the first few days just like everyone else that had tried to use the technique.

The last part of the Sandaime's musings caused a new question to surface in his mind. 'Naruto didn't quite using it.'

"When did you first start using that technique?" asked the Sandaime hesitantly as he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer or not.

"I think Rayleigh taught it to me when I was around three." replied Naruto in a nonchalant voice.

The Sandaime couldn't help it and he openly gaped. His thoughts on the matter were rather broken and came in bits and pieces that added on to each other. 'Three years old...been using it everyday...can use it in his sleep.' thought the Sandaime and eventually his thoughts started working out the numbers. 'Six hours a day...everyday...for NINE YEARS?'

It was at that point that the Sandaime realized the true extent of the training that Naruto had done with that exercise. Naruto had been training every moment that he could with the exercise for such a long time. 'Just what was your reasoning for making him learn that technique, Rayleigh-san?' he questioned. It made him wonder just what the effects of it had been after using the technique extensively for such a long period of time.

The Sandaime could find out though.

x-x

Naruto looked around the large circular room and at the stone walls. They were apparently underneath the ANBU headquarters and had gotten there through a tunnel that stretched from the Hokage tower and under the Hokage mountain to the ANBU building on top of the mountain. The room was made to stop Chakra signatures from escaping and being detected, so it would be safe for the tests that they Sandaime wanted to have Naruto perform.

Naruto stood in the center of the room with the Hokage stood a little distance away. Naruto was rather curious to know what was going on. 'Was this some type of test?' He noticed that the Sandaime had been very surprised to learn of his training with the Chakra spinning technique that Rayleigh had introduced him to so long ago.

"Now, I would like you to suppress your Chakra as best as you can." asked the Sandaime and Naruto complied. Without making a handseal, Naruto completely suppressed his Chakra. The Sandaime stood speechless. 'He suppressed it completely and so fast.' thought the Sandaime as he had been sensing Naruto's Chakra to see what the boy would do. Instead of suppressing his Chakra the way other ninja did it, Naruto started spinning his Chakra into such a tight spiral that it was suppressed from the Sandaime's sensing ability. The Hokage wasn't a sensor ninja but he couldn't feel Naruto's Chakra at all.

Normally, genin were only taught the basics of suppressing their Chakra at the academy and could use what was taught to suppress it enough to hide from most chunin and maybe some jonin ninja. Not every ninja had sensing abilities and it usually took years to start developing even a basic ability to sense the Chakra signature of another person over a distance. Large amounts of Chakra could be sensed by anyone such as from a biju, animal summons, or a ninja with very large Chakra reserves that didn't bother to suppress it, but that amount of Chakra required was much more than most jonin had. Obviously the Chakra spinning exercise could be used to help a ninja suppress their Chakra as Naruto had just done it.

"Alright, that's enough, you can stop suppressing your Chakra." said the Sandaime and once Naruto had stopped suppressing his Chakra, the Sandaime continued, "This time I would like you to pull forth your Chakra."

Just a moment after the Sandaime had said that, the room was filled with surge of Chakra coming from Naruto. The Sandaime just stood and stared as visible Chakra started coming off of Naruto. It began with his body starting to glow and then quickly started coming of him in spiraling waves. 'Incredible!' thought the Sandaime as he was amazed by the display. Normal genin would need a handseal to focus on in order pull forth their chakra but Naruto pulled forth his Chakra without any seal or sign that he was concentrating. If the Sandaime was impressed with the display, he was speechless at the amount of Chakra that Naruto had. It appeared that Naruto normally used the Chakra spinning exercise to suppress most of his Chakra while he wasn't using it as the Sandaime had no idea that Naruto's Chakra reserves were so high.

He had expected them to be high because of the seal but this was just ridiculous. 'He's only twelve and he already has more Chakra than any of the Hokage's of the village. The only person in the village who could compete with his reserves would be Maito Gai.' thought the Sandaime. It was lucky that he had decided to do this test in the sealing room as if Naruto had pulled forth this kind of Chakra in his office, it was likely that every ANBU and most of the jonin ninja in the village would have felt it and come to investigate. The Sandaime also wondered how much of the boy's reserves were due to the constant usage of the chakra spinning technique. There was probably no way of knowing or separating what was from the seal, what should Naruto have on his own, and what was built up because of the overuse of the spinning technique.

The Sandaime had Naruto stop pulling forth his Chakra and noticed that the ground where the boy was standing was marked with long curved scrapes. It made the Sandaime wonder if Naruto was sharpening his Chakra or if he was naturally channeling wind chakra without realizing it. Naruto turned toward the Sandaime and their eyes met for a brief moment. The Sandaime had been rather curious about why Naruto's eyes had started glowing while he was away at the Fire Temple. The Sandaime held the belief that the eyes were not only the window to the soul but also showed the determination or will power of a person. While looking into Naruto's, he wondered if they were glowing because the boy possessed higher Chakra reserves than anyone else his age had ever possessed. 'Perhaps his determination, power, and will are so strong that his eyes glow to show the strength he possesses.' mused the Sandaime.

x-x

Academy Graduation Exam, a few days later

x-x

Naruto decided not to bother with the exam at all. The Hokage had informed him that it didn't matter if Naruto passed the exam or not because he already had and was technically already a genin of the village. Naruto spent most of his time since meeting with the Hokage working on Chakra control exercises to bring his control back to where it was when he was younger.

The Sandaime had hoped that Naruto would at least try to pass the exam so when he showed up the next day for team placements that no one would ask questions about how he had passed if he failed the academy exam.

Naruto's shadow clone, that he sent to the academy to take the graduation exam, filled out his name on the written test and didn't bother writing down any answers. He was excused from the taijutsu portion of the exam because the Sandaime was wary that he might end up hurting one of the students. Chiriku told the Sandaime in the reports that he sent that Naruto didn't hold back. So that left the weapons portion and genjutsu portions.

The shadow clone had been bored out of its mind, nearly to the point of dispelling itself, during every section of the exam and only got to watch the taijutsu spars. So when it came time for weapons, the clone was nearly jumping for joy.

"Uzumaki Naruto." called out Iruka to the crowd of students that were outside at the throwing logs. He and Mizuki were curious as to why Naruto was exempt from the taijutsu portion of the exam but they weren't going to question the Hokage.

Clone Naruto stepped up the targets and pulled out a kunai. Behind the mask he had a confident smirk on his face. Iruka nodded so that the clone could begin throwing the projectiles. The clone threw the kunai as soon as Iruka nodded and it sailed at the target. Instead of imbedding into the wood, the Haki infused kunai demolished a segment of the wooden post and kept going. It then created a crater in the stone wall that surrounded the academy and most of the blade was imbedded in the wall.

'SHIT! I think I may have but too much Haki in it.' the clone thought as it stared at the damage. The top part of the post had fallen to the ground and a good one foot section of the post had been turned to chips and sawdust. The concrete wall had the imbedded kunai and their was a six inch deep crater surrounding the weapon. The clone looked around and noticed that every student and both teachers were staring at the damage done by the metal weapon. They had their mouths open and eyes wide at the sight. The entire group was completely silent as they stared but it wouldn't last. 'Oh shit! Boss isn't going to be happy about this.' the clone thought.

A moment later the shouts started. "What the hell was that?" "How did you do that?" "Look at the damage!" "Its imbedded in the concrete!" "Holy shit!"

A few more moments were spent staring at the damage making comments until all eyes turned to clone Naruto. They all wanted an explanation. Thinking fast it blurted out, "Must have been termites." and most of the class face-vaulted.

After everyone had gotten up, they went to inspect the log. The Aburame of the group stated, "There is no evidence of termites or any damage caused by them." and the whole group turned back to look a nervous clone Naruto.

"Its a pretty old log, probably was going to break at anytime." said clone Naruto with a shrug.

'It didn't break, part of it exploded.' thought Iruka as he looked over the damage.

The class then migrated to the wall and the crater. Kiba had to put his foot on the wall to get enough pulling power to get the kunai out. The whole class stared at the kunai to find that it wasn't damaged in the slightest. They then turned to clone Naruto and expected an answer for the damage to the wall.

The clone just stared back and deadpanned, "Shoddy workmanship on the concrete." which caused most of the class to sweat-drop.

Another period of silence ensued when the class looked at the damage and the weapon to try and figure out what had happened. It was just a regular kunai. How could it have done this?

The silence was broken by the clone. "When can I throw my other weapons?" asked the clone and it took a moment for everyone realize what was said. They also realized where they were standing and started yelling and pushing each other out of the way in a panic to get out of the firing range.

x-x

Clone Naruto was called to the separate room in order to test his ability to dispel a genjutsu. Clone Naruto walked into the room and a genjutsu was placed on him by one of the teachers. It took a couple of moments before the clone said, "Are you going to cast the genjutsu now?"

Iruka and Mizuki looked at each other confused. The genjutsu should have started working. Iruka cast the genjutsu again and waited. "It didn't work." the clone said in a bored voice. Iruka tried to find out what had happened but he really couldn't.

The genjutsu was cast again by a slightly frustrated Iruka. Another moment passed before the clone asked, "Are you even trying?" in an annoyed voice. Iruka's eye twitched as he tried to figure out what was happening. The only thing that he could come up with was either Naruto was messing with them or he just didn't notice the genjutsu. It should have shown Naruto an altered version of the room they were in.

Iruka just assumed that Naruto didn't notice anything and marked him off as not passing.

x-x

"Please make three clones." said Iruka. Clone Naruto had already failed the written and genjutsu portion of the testing while being given a pass for the taijutsu. They still weren't sure what happened with the weapons test. They just passed Naruto and refused to let him throw anymore weapons.

Clone Naruto made a handseal and three puffs of smoke appeared. Since he found out that his Chakra control had gotten worse, the original Naruto had redone all the Chakra control exercises that Rayleigh had taught him. His control had gotten better but not enough to make three clones again, but he really wasn't worried about it because the Sandaime said he would pass regardless.

From the smoke, one perfect clones emerged and two dead one. "You fail!" said Iruka and clone Naruto just smiled behind his mask as the whole exam didn't really matter.

x-x

Clone Naruto sat at the swing outside of the academy. He wasn't watching the people in front of him that were congratulating their children for graduating. His thoughts were on home angry the original Naruto would be for the slip up with the kunai and he wanted to wait as long as possible to gather more memories so the real Naruto might overlook the clones mistake when the memories all flooded back to him.

Clone Naruto could hear all the voices in the crowd, and tried to ignore the ones that were happy that he didn't graduate. He felt that they were all idiots as the boss had graduated five years ago and had been doing missions for almost three years. The clone also knew that only a couple of the graduates would even become genin so the celebration and congratulations were pointless for the majority of the class.

It was at that point that clone Naruto felt Mizuki approach.

x-x

Hokage tower, a little later that afternoon

x-x

"So let me get this straight. The teacher at the academy wanted you to steal a scroll form this building and bring it to him so you could graduate?" asked the Sandaime and Naruto nodded. "He told you the layout of the building, the patrols, the location of the scroll, and a description of the scroll?" and Naruto again nodded. "Wait here for a minute." said the Sandaime as he walked out of his office and down the hall.

It was a few minutes before the Hokage came back with a large scroll. "Is this the scroll that he wanted you to steal?" Naruto nodded right away as he didn't have to look it over very carefully. The scroll the Sandaime had brought fit the description of the one Mizuki had told him about. The man hadn't been forthcoming about what exactly was in the scroll, only a description and location.

"This scroll is called the Scroll of Seals, and before you ask, no it doesn't have much fuinjutsu in it. It was made by the Shodai and contains many of the kinjutsu of the village as well as many other forbidden jutsu. It has always been in the Hokage's possession and has been added to over the years. The assistant chunin teacher at the academy told you, that if you learned a technique from here, that you would graduate?" asked the Sandaime and Naruto just nodded his head.

It was obvious when his clone dispelled that the chunin was lying and wanted to get the scroll. Naruto had promptly walked to the Hokage tower and talked to the Hokage about it.

The Sandaime sat down at his desk and thought about the situation. It would seem that one of his chunin in the academy was either trying to get Naruto caught while stealing a forbidden scroll or wanted the scroll for himself and would use Naruto as a scapegoat for the theft. The Sandaime was confident that it was the later of the choices as Mizuki could be implicated in the first scenario but not in the second. At least if he left no witnesses.

The problem was that he only had Naruto's word to implicate Mizuki and that wouldn't be enough. The Sandaime believed Naruto but no one else would and he couldn't arrest a ninja of Konoha without evidence. The ninja elders and the clan council wouldn't trust Naruto's word over that of an academy teacher. Unless he was able to get that evidence or catch the person in the act then Mizuki couldn't be charged with anything.

Looking at Naruto, he saw a very capable shinobi and he knew that Naruto could defeat any of the students and even the chunin at the academy. "I have a mission for you, Naruto-kun. You don't have to accept but I would like you to hear me out. I don't have enough evidence to implicate Mizuki in anything so I would like you set him up and then capture him. It would be a B-rank..." but he was cut off, "I accept." said Naruto.

The Sandaime merely smiled and was about to give Naruto the scroll to use when Naruto continued, "So your going to give me a fake scroll and have me pretend its the original?"

The Sandaime stopped his hand and his eyes widened as he realized what he was about to and how silly it was. He couldn't give Naruto the real Scroll of Seals. 'I can't believe I even thought about giving him the real one. I don't want him anywhere near that scroll.' thought the Sandaime as he knew that Naruto liked jutsu and Mizuki said he was supposed to learn from the scroll.

The Sandaime got up from his desk and told Naruto that he was going to get a large scroll that was similar in size and design to the Scroll of Seals. He had several scrolls like that inside the building.

As the Sandaime left the room, Naruto's attention focused on the unguarded Scroll of Seals in front of him. The Sandaime was gone...it was sitting right in reach...he had empty scrolls and his fuinjutsu ink with him. Naruto's hand started reaching out for the scroll. Shakky really had rubbed off on him.

x-x

A few minutes later, the Sandaime returned with an empty scroll that was very similar to the Scroll of Seals. He found Naruto sitting in the same chair but reading one of the books that he carried with him. The Sandaime smiled at the sight and handed Naruto the fake scroll. Naruto was going to stay in the tower for a couple of hours until the late afternoon. At that point, Naruto would leave the tower and head to the designated place to meet with Mizuki.

Naruto planned to set up some traps beforehand as he learned from Rayleigh, and through experience, that he should never underestimate anyone. He would also have to watch out for other ninja but his sensing ability had improved so he was sure he would be fine.

A few hours later, Naruto set out for the meeting place from the Hokage tower. The Sandaime said he would give him a five minute head start before he alerted his ninja that the scroll of seals was stolen. As Naruto was planning how he would set up the area with traps he realized something.

'I have no idea where the meeting place is.'

x-x

Mizuki had been runnig around the whole village looking for the Kyuubi-brat for over an hour. He wasn't at the meeting place as he had checked and he couldn't find him anywhere else. Other ninja were still searching so he knew that the brat hadn't been captured yet. 'So where the devil is he!' and no sooner than he had thought that, than another thought came to his mind. 'What if he took the scroll and ran.'

It was something that Mizuki never would have normally considered. 'What if the Kyuubi-brat had taken the scroll for himself.' Mizuki wasn't actually sure what all was in the scroll. He had also told the brat to learn something from it. Any number of things could go wrong but Mizuki was sure that the brat wouldn't be able to learn anything. At least he was partly sure. Maybe there was a chance. 'SHIT!' Mizuki thought as he continued to look for the brat.

He decided to make one last trip back to the meeting place just in case the idiot had gotten lost or something. Mizuki needed that scroll so he could trade it for power from Orochimaru.

x-x

Naruto was hiding from the ninja in the village as he still wasn't able to find the meeting place. He had ended up at a training ground, the park, the market, back at the Hokage tower, Ichiraku's Restaurant five separate times, and the Hokage monument, even though he didn't remember traveling uphill at any point.

It was really getting annoying that he couldn't find where he wanted to go. '**What the hells wrong with this village?'** thought Naruto as again he came out of an alley and found himself looking at Ichiraku's Restaurant and the adjoining Baratie for the sixth time. **'How many restaurants did they make?'**

Right when Naruto was about to turn around and head back down the alley he felt Mizuki's chakra signature. 'I'll just follow him. Maybe he'll lead me to the meeting place.' thought Naruto and he followed Mizuki's chakra.

They traveled to the outskirts of the village and Naruto was sure that this must be the way to the meeting place.

Mizuki stopped on a branch looking over a clearing with an old shed in it. 'Damnit, he still isn't here!' he thought as he was getting more an more frustrating.

"Heads up!" came from behind Mizuki and he turned his head just in time to get kicked in the back by the boy he was looking for. Mizuki was propelled off the branch and smashed into the roof of the shed.

'Oops, I kicked him a little farther than I wanted. I wonder who owns that shed?' thought Naruto as he sat on the branch that Mizuki had forcefully vacated against his will.

Naruto was returned to the situation at hand when he heard the sounds of debris moving and Mizuki stumbled out the front door of the shed. "Ohhh its you Mizuki-san. I've been looking for you everywhere. Wherever you been?" said Naruto with a smile.

Mizuki had his head down so his white bangs covered his face. He was sneering and gritting his teeth but managed to put on a fake smile and lifted his head, "Ahh, Naruto I've been looking for you as well. We must have missed each other." said Mizuki while trying not to shake with the rage he was feeling at that very moment.

"Your not hurt are you? I was couldn't slow down, thanks for the help." said Naruto cheerily.

"Its fine." replied Mizuki as thoughts of killing the Kyuubi-brat in various ways went through his mind.

"I brought the scroll like you asked." said Naruto and he turned slightly to show the scroll that was strapped to his back.

"Well that's good. Once you hand the scroll over to me you'll pass the exam." stated Mizuki as he stared hungrily at the scroll.

"Hmmmm, no. I don't think I'll give it to you. I've had second thoughts about the exam. Maybe I should go put the scroll back." said Naruto as he made to start heading back to the Hokage tower. At least he thought it was the direction to the Hokage tower.

"NOOO! I'm mean, don't be so hasty Naruto. All you have to do is give me the scroll and you pass the exam." said Mizuki as he tried to coax the boy to stop from going back to the Hokage.

"Why do I need to give you the scroll? I already took it, learned a technique from it, and brought it here. Doesn't that mean I pass and can go back now?" stated Naruto with fake innocence.

"Just give me the scroll Naruto." said Mizuki with a hint of anger and madness in his voice.

"Why? I could just take it back." replied Naruto.

"GIVE ME THE SCROLL." commanded Mizuki as his hand went for the latch on the shuriken.

"No." was the only reply.

Mizuki was about to remove one of his large shuriken from his back when he got an idea for a distraction. "Naruto did you ever wonder why the village hates you and treats you like they do?" asked Mizuki with a sneer.

"I already know that story, pick another village secret." said Naruto seriously and Mizuki balked as he couldn't believe that the Kyuubi-brat knew. Detaching one of the shuriken off his back, he spun it in his hand and threw it.

Naruto saw where the shuriken was going with his Haki and easily side-stepped it. "I guess it was a good thing Iruka was in charge of the weapons portion of the academy." joked Naruto.

Mizuki's sneer widened and Naruto said, "What do you want the scroll for?" and he waited for Mizuki to answer.

Mizuki removed the next shuriken but didn't throw it. "Seeing as your going to die anyway, I need it to trade for power."

"Huh, why would you trade the scroll for power?" asked Naruto as he moved to another branch and kept his eyes on Mizuki.

"Because, by trading it I'll get enough power to beat any jonin." said Mizuki as he followed the Kyuubi-brats movements through the trees. His free hand moved for some kunai.

"That doesn't make any sense, why would you trade a scroll of powerful and forbidden jutsu for power? Why wouldn't you just use the scroll, learn the techniques it has, and get power that way?" asked Naruto as he continued to circle Mizuki in the branches.

Mizuki faltered for a second and twitched, he hadn't thought of that. He had only thought to get the scroll and presenting it to Orochimaru. The thought that the Kyuubi-brat was bringing up things he hadn't thought of frustrated him even more.

"SHUT UP! It doesn't matter! Once I trade the scroll, I can get all the power I want." stated Mizuki with a triumphant smirk.

"That doesn't make any sense either. Who would be able to just give away power like candy? It doesn't work like you moron." said Naruto derisively and Mizuki threw a few kunai but they were easily dodged.

"Of course it does! Orochimaru-sama can give me all the power I want." said Mizuki without thinking what he was saying. The Kyuubi-brat was really unnerving him as he kept moving around him through the trees.

"Orochimaru?" said Naruto in surprise.

"You really are an idiot! He's one of the Sannin you dumbass." yelled Mizuki.

"I knew that." Naruto deadpanned and before he could say anything else, Mizuki continued, "Once I give him this scroll he'll give me power I want!" and he threw the second large shuriken but Naruto dodged it as well.

"How will you find him?" asked Naruto when he landed on another branch.

Mizuki stopped as he thought about that. He really didn't have a way to find Orochimaru, or knew where he was. He wasn't about to reveal that to the Kyuubi however, "I'll be able to find him easily." sneered Mizuki. He took out a kunai and prepared to charge. He was growing tired of talking and wanted to kill the brat.

"I doubt it. I'm sure a bunch of people have been looking for him for the bounty on his head and they haven't found him. How could you?" said Naruto as he landed on a new branch and kept looking at Mizuki.

"Maybe I won't have to find him. Maybe he'll find me once he learns I took the scroll."countered Mizuki with a smirk.

"That doesn't make any sense either. If I was able to get the scroll, then wouldn't Orochimaru have been able to take it anytime he wanted when he was still in konoha? What makes you think he even wants this scroll? You haven't really thought this through, have you?" said Naruto and he knew Mizuki was about to attack but he jumped down to the ground anyway.

'ENOUGH! FUCK IT! I'll just kill him and the village will make me a hero for his death and retrieving the scroll.' thought Mizuki and he charged at Naruto with his kunai. Naruto feigned being scared as Mizuki approached. Naruto seemed to have frozen on the spot as Mizuki stabbed him in the heart with the kunai and pinned him to the tree.

"Die Kyuubi!' said Mizuki as smiled in victory but Naruto just looked at him with a dull expression and said while choking on blood, "You forgot that I learned a new technique."

Before Mizuki could do anything, the Naruto that he had pinned to the tree exploded.

x-x

The real Naruto emerged from one of the trees that he had phased into. The shadow clone had done its job of getting Mizuki to talk. The man gave more information that Naruto would have thought. He had believed that Mizuki just wanted the scroll for himself.

One of the first stops that Naruto made while searching for Mizuki was the training ground and he had looked over the techniques he copied from the scroll. He didn't bother with learning shadow clones, which he already knew and was the first jutsu in the scroll, but did look at the next jutsu which was the exploding shadow clone technique.

Naruto jumped down to the ground and knocked Mizuki out with a punch. The man was barely able to stand from the explosion. If Naruto wanted, he could have killed the chunin with the explosion but he didn't. Tying up the chunin, he placed a chakra suppressing seal on him and made a shadow clone to carry him back to the village.

He was a little disappointed that he didn't get to use his swords but testing out a new jutsu was just as good. Naruto turned turned to head back but ended up looking around the clearing as he had forgotten which way would take him back.

x-x

The next day, Konoha academy

x-x

Naruto walked into the mostly empty academy room about fifteen minute before class started. He could feel the surprise from several of the students that were there as they must not have expected him to be in class if he had failed the previous day. The thought made him smile.

Except for getting lost so many times, he had a fun time learning a new technique, evading the ninja of the village for almost four hours, and using his knew technique on someone he didn't like. He even got paid for a B-rank mission, which he spent a fair amount of at Ichiraku's the breakfast this morning.

Naruto pulled out one of his books and started reading as the remaining people of the class filed in. He was completely oblivious to their looks and surprise at him wearing a forehead protector. It wasn't until nearly the entire class was there that the noise started. Naruto could feel them coming from hundreds of feet away as they had both raced side-by-side to the academy and had gotten stuck in the sliding door to the room.

"I was here first, Ino-pig."

"Yeah right, forehead. My foot entered the room first."

They continued to struggle until they managed to push through the door and both fell forwards to the ground. It was at that point that Naruto noticed it. Uchiha Sasuke was sitting next to him. He must have ignored it in favor of his book and he examined the room with his sensing ability to find an empty chair. He really didn't want to sit next to the Uchiha. Mostly because he didn't like him and mostly because his fan girls would always annoy him because he was sitting next to Sasuke in a seat that was designated for them.

Unfortunate, before Naruto could move, the loud duo were already standing near him. "Naruto, get out of that seat! I want to sit by Sasuke-kun!" said the loud pink one but Naruto wasn't listening. To be more specific, he couldn't actually hear at the moment.

While looking over the seals that Rayleigh had left him, Naruto found the seal that Rayleigh had put on his shoulder so many years ago. He found that in addition to turning off all of his senses, it could also turn off just one of the five senses or several of them. It took a while to learn to send chakra to the seal and manipulate it but he was able to figure it out.

As the two girls no doubt prattled on about how the seat was rightfully there's Naruto was immersed in his book and couldn't hear a sound with his nonexistent hearing. It was wonderful, and he thanked his sensei everyday of the past week that he had spent in the academy for it.

At some point during the yelling. Sakura had finally gotten mad enough that she threw a punch. Naruto really believed that she should probably have gone to the Fire Temple in order to learn to deal with her anger but hat was beside the point. Naruto had already sensed the attack before she had even started to raise her arm and the very moment she thought of it. With the correct application of Haki, he hardened the areas of his body that would be affected by the blow.

He had learned from watching Kiba get hit that the Haruno girl could use chakra control to strengthen her punches. Ino was less frequent to resort to such heavy violence and usually smacked more than punched. The hit impacted the side of Naruto's head but his head only moved slightly to the side by an inch. There was no pain for Naruto as he had negated the majority of the punch with Haki. It provided him with some amusement and Haki training as he would put just enough Haki to negate the punch. He could have knocked the girl across the room with a release of Haki or caused her to break her hand, but he wasn't that mean.

As the silence ensued, at least for Naruto, and the pink haired girl no doubt was complaining of the pain in her hand. Naruto decided to end the argument as class was about to start. He turned off the seal and asked without looking up from his book, "How many people can sit on an academy bench?"

Both girls stared at him and Sakura put her hands on her hips and answered with a smile, "Three seats. Isn't that obvious."

Naruto ignored the jibe and continued, "Where am I sitting on the bench?"

"At the end?" Ino answered with a little hesitance but Naruto nodded that she was correct. She wasn't sure where this was going and she also didn't like to antagonize Naruto nearly as much as Sakura tried to.

"Where is Sasuke sitting?" asked Naruto and he received the answer of 'in the middle' from Sakura.

"Who's sitting at the other end?" asked Naruto and a moment passed when both girls thought about what he had said. The moment was over when Ino's eyes widened and she shoved Sakura out of the way. She quickly ran to the empty seat beside Sasuke and sat down, then proclaimed her victory for all to hear.

Naruto, without looking up from his book, said to Sakura as she was getting up, "The correct answer to that question, was Ino." and he smiled at the little joke.

Sakura moved to punch Naruto again but Iruka came into the room and told everyone to be seated and to shut up. "There's a seat open next to Shino." said Naruto without looking up and Sakura went to sit in that seat, which was the only open seat in the room. It wasn't until she sat down that she wondered, 'How did he knew that the seat next to Shino was open? He never once looked up from his book.'

Iruka stood at the front of the class and started making a speech about graduation and how proud he was but Naruto turned his seal on again. It wasn't until Iruka took out the sheet that had the squad information that Naruto turned it back on.

Naruto stared at Iruka as he announced who his team members would be. 'What the hell was the old man thinking. I hate Sakura and Sasuke, yet he put me on a team with them?'

Creating a shadow clone outside, Naruto switched with it through the open window. The switch was perfect and no smoke gave him away. He would have an hour for lunch until the jonin came to get their squads. Naruto was about to go to the Hokage tower when he stopped. He couldn't feel the Sandaime's Chakra in the tower. Instead, it was coming from near his apartment.

x-x

Hatake Kakashi was lying with his back on the ground in the middle of a crater. The jonin was dazed and in a good amount of pain. He wasn't completely sure why he was on the ground looking up at the sky, so he tried to remember what had happened.

He had arrived late to the meeting about genin squads in the Hokage's office. The Sandaime had divided up the academy graduates and given each jonin a team. Several of the higher ranking jonin were able to ask for specific students or even request a squad. Asuma had asked for the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Kurenai had requested Hinata, and he had requested Uchiha Sasuke.

There had been quite a lot of mumbling when the Sandaime mentioned the name 'Uzumaki Naruto' but Kakashi wasn't that concerned. The boy had been placed on his team but he didn't mind. Others would have probably refused, especially Kurenai. Kakashi wasn't sure what to make of the boy but he would soon find out.

While the other jonin went to lunch before they would pick up their teams at the academy, Kakashi went to visit the homes of the students he was assigned too. He had seen the Uchiha's home and the civilian girl that he was assigned. The Uchiha's was mostly as he expected it. It was full of scrolls and weapons but rather neat and tidy. The civilian girl's room was just as he expected it to be. Clean, tidy, and with a secret shrine devoted to the Uchiha.

It was then that Kakahsi went to find the apartment of the last member of his team. He had moved across the village and found the building. After that he couldn't remember anything else. That was also when the pain started. Kakashi was brought out of his thoughts when a shadow fell over him, literally and in title.

Kakashi looked up to see the Sandaime standing over him. The man just smiled at him and started talking to him while he lay on the ground, "I guess I wasn't able to get here in time. Naruto-kun has a very secure apartment. He has security seals and even barriers on the windows. But I don't have to tell you that, since you found out first hand." said the Sandaime with a smile. He looked up at the top floor apartment and continued talking, "You must have fallen a good four stories after smacking into the barrier on the window. It must have hurt quite a bit." and the Sandaime in a nonchalant way and then chuckled while Kakashi groaned.

The Sandaime appeared to understand the language of 'groaning in pain' and replied, "Yes, I can see why you wouldn't have expected something like that. It isn't everyday that you find an academy students apartment that is more secure than the clan compounds. If you want to go inside, I have access and can let you in. There really isn't much to see though."

The Sandaime started walking away before he stopped and turned back to Kakashi, "Are you coming?" he asked in a very nice way with a smile. Kakashi groaned again and started getting up out of the Kakashi-shaped crater.

They both walked up the stairs to the top floor apartments. The building wasn't actually an apartment building. It was owned by the village and used for storage but the top floor was made into apartments. Naruto lived up there as did his friend Sora.

They arrived at the door and the Sandaime performed the necessary seals to unlock it. Kakashi watched and wondered why exactly the apartment would have so much security. The moment passed and he followed the Hokage into the apartment.

Kakashi started examining the apartment. There was a lot that could be learned about a person and their habits from looking their living space. Kakashi first went to the fridge and opened the handle. He found...nothing. The fridge was empty and he looked around the appliance to find that it wasn't even plugged into the wall outlet.

Kakashi temporarily stopped his as he tried to figure out what kind of person would not only have an empty fridge but not even bother to plug it in. While Kakashi continued his search of the kitchen, the Sandaime sat down at the table in the kitchen and pulled out a file on Uzumaki Naruto. It was one of the many files that belonged to the boy and that the Sandaime kept sealed in the safe in his office.

Opening the cupboards, Kakashi once again was surprised to find them empty. He had thought perhaps the boy just didn't store any perishable food but that was not the case as every pantry and drawer in the kitchen was empty. Naruto didn't even seem to have silverware or dishes. It actually made Kakashi's eye twitch as he hadn't expected something like this.

Moving on, Kakashi went to the other areas of the apartment. He walked down the hall and found the bathroom and laundry. 'Well at least he's using some of his own apartment.' thought Kakashi as he moved on. Normally he wouldn't have gone so far as to look through the entire apartment, he would just glance around. This apartment was far different than the usual so he found himself looking it over more thoroughly. He stopped by the hallway closet. He opened the closet and for once on this investigation, found what he expected to see.

The closet was full of clothes, ninja supplies, and scrolls. It was actually full to the brim but it was semi-organized. At least it actually proved that the boy was living there. Kakashi continued to the bedroom and opened the door. The room had a bed and a nightstand. That was it. He expected to find a little more than that as the bedroom was the biggest room in the apartment and he thought he would find at least something on the floor, whether it was trash or ninja equipment. There was nothing and the floor was bare, as were the walls. Kakashi bent down and looked under the bed but found nothing there either.

He walked back to the kitchen and thought about the apartment while the Sandaime waited quietly at the table. From all that he had found, Kakashi wasn't able to learn much that was useful or really told him much about Uzumaki Naruto. If he didn't know who the apartment belonged to, his first thoughts would have been that this was the residence of a spy for another village or a ninja that had long missions away from the village. The lack of food, utensils, and use of appliances suggested that the person living here didn't plan to stay for very long or was gone for long periods of time and only occasionally stopped by.

Another thought was that this apartment was some kind of dummy apartment and the person who rented it had another place of residence somewhere else, probably outside of the village, and rarely used this apartment. However none of those were the case as this was an academy student who probably had lived in this apartment for the majority of his life. An academy student wouldn't travel outside the village or have money for a separate apartment. He was interested in the elaborate security that the boy had and absentmindedly rubbed his still sore face.

The only definite conclusions that he could make from the apartment were that the boy didn't eat here and rarely slept here. He did however use the bathroom, the tub/shower, did his laundry there, and used the closet for storage but Kakashi wasn't sure how much the boy actually slept there.

If the boy wasn't sleeping here very often, then where was he sleeping? Kakashi didn't have an answer for that question. Also, if the boy wasn't eating there, where did he get food from. The obvious answer was they he ate out, yet Kakashi found no menu's for takeout which meant that he must go to the restaurant and not order out or take back leftovers. 'Or perhaps he forages for himself in the woods?' thought Kakashi but that was highly unlikely.

Kakashi looked at the Sandaime who was still sitting on the chair with a folder was in front of him. "This is Naruto-kun's file. I suppose you've already read the files on your other two students?" asked the Sandaime but Kakashi's shiftiness and the fact that he had taken out his Icha Icha Paradise told him that the jonin hadn't bothered.

"I suggest you do look at this file." stated the Sandaime as he pushed the file towards the direction that Kakashi was standing.

Kakashi looked at the file but didn't take it. 'What would the file have that I don't already know?' thought Kakashi. Not much had happened concerning the boy since the second Hyuuga incident, as it was sometimes referred to. What else could the file tell him that he wouldn't be able to figure out with a quick meeting and by observing the boy? In his mind, the answer was 'nothing.' The file wouldn't be able to give him anymore information than he would be able to figure out himself.

Kakashi reached for the file but pushed it back and the Sandaime frowned slightly. He couldn't force Kakashi to read a file and it was obvious that he hadn't bothered to read the files of his other two students like every other jonin sensei did. The Sandaime took the file back and Kakashi made to leave through the window. The jonin ducked his head through the open window only to smack his face into something and groaned.

"If you'll recall, the windows have barriers. You'll have to go out the front door like you came in." the Sandaime said with a small smile and Kakashi sighed while nodded. He then walked out the front door. The Sandaime might have to ask Naruto to put barriers like that on the windows of his office.

'Well its unfortunately his choice whether or not to look at the files. I probably should warn him but its his own fault. He'll soon find there is more about Uzumaki Naruto than a person could ever learn from his apartment, the file, or from even meeting him.' thought the Sandaime.

x-x

The Sandaime walked out of Naruto's apartment and resealed the front door, he turned to leave and stopped as Naruto was standing right in front him. 'I didn't even sense him.' thought the Sandaime.

He could tell that the boy was upset and he thought perhaps it was about letting someone into his apartment, which made him wonder how the boy knew but another thought gave precedence over the others. "Aren't you supposed to be in the academy?" the Sandaime asked.

"I am." replied Naruto which caused the Sandaime to sweat-drop. 'Shadow clones. I should have known.'

Before the Sandaime could say anything else, Naruto asked, "Why did you place me with the two people I dislike most in the academy?"

The Sandaime sighed and took Naruto back to his office with a quick body flicker technique. Naruto's apartment wasn't very far from the Hokage tower so it only took a single use of the jutsu to get them there.

"Unfortunately, I had several jonin request teams and I also had to look at the standings. I thought about putting you with Yuhi Kurenai but she requested you not be on her team and that she wanted Hyuuga Hinata." the Hokage said and he didn't elaborate any further or needed to.

"I then thought about putting you with my son, Sarutobi Asuma. However he wanted the trio of Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru." sighed the Sandaime.

"That left several several other teachers but the majority didn't want you on their team. That left just one person." said the Sandaime and he could tell Naruto was frowning.

"You mean the old guy who smacked into my barriers...twice?" asked Naruto and the Sandaime's eyes widened slightly as he wasn't aware that Naruto was watching.

"Yes that very same, although Kakashi-san is only twenty six." stated the Sandaime. He didn't like the fact that so many people had it out for Naruto and he knew that if he put him with one of the other jonin, they would most likely purposely fail the team just to send him back to the academy. Of course Kakashi's record wasn't any better.

He wished that Kurenai could be convinced that Naruto hadn't done anything to Hinata or that Asuma wasn't so lazy and hadn't wanted a team that could practically train themselves with the family techniques that they had. He could have forced them to take Naruto but that could have ended even worse than if he left things the way they were. The only thing he could tell Naruto was that he would only have to spend at most six months with that team before he would be promoted.

x-x

After lunch, Konoha Academy

x-x

Teams filed out when the sensei's came to get them. Clone Naruto was one of three people left in the room. He was still sitting next to Sasuke and Sakura had taken the seat on the other end that Ino had reluctantly vacated.

Clone Naruto was reading his book, Sasuke was brooding, and Sakura was attempting to catch Sasuke's attention by looking cute. Sasuke had already ignored her request for a date. The clone started getting bored so he decided to have some fun with the sensei when he arrived.

The real Naruto was actually sitting on the roof as he really didn't want to sit in the classroom. Several thoughts were going through his mind, 'Maybe something should happen to one of the genin on the other teams, and then I would get moved there. I wonder if that guy who was at my apartment is related to the scarecrow that Anko always talked about. Whats taking so long.' he wondered as he could still feel himself and the other two students still in the academy room and he couldn't feel the jonin from a few hours previously. 'Where did he go if he knew he was supposed to be at the academy to pick our team up?' wondered Naruto. He wished he knew that their sensei was going to be late, then he could have spent time training or sparring with Sora.

x-x

two and half hours later

x-x

Naruto was still on the roof of the building. There was no point in doing absolutely nothing while waiting for someone to show up. He had started working on his Chakra control which still wasn't where it used to be. After collecting a few leaves from the trees on the top of the building, he attached them to his body while making them spin. He did this while still reading his book.

During his time waiting for the jonin to show up, Naruto had actually felt him travel through the village. He couldn't be sure exactly where the jonin was going or coming from but the jonin made two stops at separate buildings. Naruto wasn't sure what the buildings were but he guessed one was the jonin's home/apartment and the other might be a grocery store, book shop, or something along those lines.

That was around a half an hour ago and now Naruto could feel the man finally heading to the academy. He released his control on the leaves and they fell to the ground. Naruto wasn't sure if the jonin could notice that he was in two places at once so he suppressed his Chakra. The clone three floors below him no doubt already knew the jonin was coming as they both had the same sensing skill. Naruto decided to wait and see what would happen.

x-x

Hatake Kakashi walked to the designated classroom, arriving fashionably late at the academy. He opened the door and went to stick his head in when he smacked an invisible barrier. Groaning, he rubbed his already sore face and looked into the room. Naruto was laughing at him. He must have hit one of the boy's barriers again. 'My poor nose...How does he know how to make barriers like this? Even I don't know how to make barriers.' thought Kakashi but he disregarded it as he checked his nose to see if he was bleeding. The other students in the room didn't know what was going on so he decided that they didn't know what the boy had done."Meet me on the roof in five minutes." and with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

x-x

A moment later, Kakashi appeared on the roof while reading his book. Only a few seconds passed before he noticed something was off and there was someone else on the roof. He lowered his book slightly and noticed that not ten feet away was the boy he just left in the classroom who was also reading a book. He raised a single eyebrow at this. 'How could he have gotten up here so fast?' he thought and then he noticed the leaves on the ground. 'He used the konoha body flicker technique? Why didn't I feel him use it?' he thought and wondered what was going on.

The boy just lowered his book slightly and they stared at each other. Two mask wearing individuals. One a boy, the other a man. Both holding up books and reading from them. 'I wonder why are his eyes are glowing like that.' thought Kakashi.

The silence was broken by Naruto. "What took you so long to get here?" he asked.

Kakashi continued to stare at the boy while he thought about the question. 'Does he mean to the roof or to the academy? If he means to the roof then he implies that he beat me to the roof with a body flicker and if he means the academy than that much is obvious.'

"Sorry I was late...some insidious fiend kept putting up barriers in my path to slow me down." said Kakashi and Naruto smirked behind his book and mask.

The conversation was stopped when the other two genin came through the door of the staircase. Sakura was about to tell the sensei that Naruto had disappeared when she saw him sitting there. "How did you get here before us!" she yelled.

"I walked." said Naruto she nearly fell over while Sasuke twitched.

"Well now that were all here, how about we introduce ourselves. You can tell you likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, things like that." said Kakashi to his students.

"Why don't you go first, sensei" said Sakura and Kakashi pulled his book away from his face to talk.

"Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi, I have some likes and dislikes, a few hobbies, and my dream isn't for children's ears." said Kakashi and three students sweat-dropped.

"How about you go next bubblegum." said Kakashi with an eye smile.

Sakura scowled at the reference to her hair but cheered up as she started talking about herself, "My name is Haruno Sakura and I like...(insert giggles here as he glances at Sasuke)..., I dislike Ino-pig and Naruto-baka. My hobbies are...(insert giggles here as he glances at Sasuke), and..." It was at that point that Naruto turned on his seal so he didn't have to listen to anything else.

'That's got to be the creepiest girl I ever encountered. Why in the world is she trying to be a ninja?' he thought and looked over to see her swooning at Sasuke's every word. 'Ohhhh...that explains it.' and he shivered slightly.

Naruto released the seal to hear the end of what Kakashi was saying, "...samurai." Naruto took that single to word to indicate that he was next. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I have many likes and many dislikes, some of which I only recently discovered today.." he said while looking at Kakashi who eye smiled back, "...as for hobbies, swords, and slicing. And my dream...is to become the strongest in the world." said Naruto in a very serious voice.

'Well he grew in a strange way.' thought Kakashi.

He tuned out the pink girl yelling about how he would never be stronger than her Sasuke-kun. He knew he was already stronger than Sasuke but he wasn't going to say it.

"Now that we all know each other, here are three maps and directions to the training ground where we will be doing survival training tomorrow. Memorize them, then eat the evidence." said Kakashi with an eye smile

No sooner did he finish then Sakura spoke up, "Survival training? We already had that at the academy." Naruto tried to stop himself from bursting out with laughter. Academy survival training was a joke compared to what Rayleigh put him through.

"Well this is a little bit different. All of you will be facing me during this training and...well, maybe I shouldn't tell you." baited Kakashi as he waited for the response.

"Tell us what?" asked Sakura and Sasuke leaned forward slightly to hear the response. Naruto wasn't exactly sure what was going on.

"Alright, I suppose I can tell you. Out of the thirty students that take this survival training. Only about nine or less ever pass. So that's a sixty-six percent failure rate. The rest are sent back to the academy." said Kakashi in a serious voice but on the inside he was rather amused by the expressions he was getting. Sasuke was nervous, Sakura was looking at him dubiously and Naruto...he wasn't sure.

"Can we start earlier than tomorrow?" asked Naruto abruptly.

"Aaaah, no. The exam starts tomorrow at the listed time on your sheets. I'll see you then. Don't forget to eat the evidence." said Kakashi as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Eat the evidence? He laminated these sheets." Sakura said out loud.

Please Review


	17. Chapter 17

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

AN: I took a while to write this chapter, sorry it took so long for an update.

x-x

Chapter XVII: The genin exam

continuation of last chapter

Sandaime's Office

x-x

The Sandaime sighed as he sat back in his chair and once again thought about Naruto. It wasn't really fair that the boy was placed back into the academy or onto a team that he didn't want to be on. The excuse he had given about not being promoted to chunin during peacetime until having taken the exams at least once, was flimsy at best. He suspected Naruto knew that as well.

The reasoning that the Hokage had for putting Naruto as a genin around those the squads that would no doubt pass the exam made sense to him. Everything seemed to fit so perfectly. The three squads that would likely pass the exam were almost entirely made up of the heirs and heiresses of the clan heads of the village. The Sandaime hoped that Naruto would make friends among that group and perhaps even take on a leadership position. He wanted Naruto to bond with that group and lead that group because one day they would be the clan heads of the village.

When the Sandaime looked at Naruto he saw many things. Determination. Guts. Skill. Motivation. Strength. And a fearless boy who did what was right and not what other people told him to do. But what the Sandaime really saw when he looked at Naruto was a future Hokage. Naruto was definitely someone that could lead the next generation of Konoha ninja. It was all there, plain as day. Naruto was progressing at an incredible level, such that he could be called a prodigy of several different ninja arts. If the Sandaime was honest with himself, he could have promoted Naruto to chunin years ago.

No matter who else he looked at in the village, the Sandaime just didn't see the same qualities in anyone else that he saw in Naruto. In the entire village he just didn't see another person who had what it took to become Hokage. The village needed a strong leader and the Sandaime was getting old. Naruto overcame so many obstacles and was already developing a very unique skill set that set him apart from anyone else in the village. He was more advanced than anyone else his age and there was little doubt in the Sandaime's mind that Naruto would reach the level of kage in around seven years.

It also seemed like an entire generation was repeating itself. It was almost an exact mirror image to years ago when the Yondaime was in the academy. Minato had been in a class with the heirs and heiresses of the clan heads of the village at that point. He graduated with them and became of leader amongst his fellow genin of that generation. He grew with them and advanced in rank with them. They respected him and followed him. Over time, he became an incredible leader and figure in the village. Then he became Hokage.

When the Sandaime first looked at the list of students that were applying to the academy over six years ago, he saw almost the exact same class that Minato had. Naruto would be with the children of the mothers and fathers that Minato was classmates with. With those kind of friends and connections he would easily be able to become Hokage in the future. It was such a strange coincidence that they were all the same age or only months apart from each others. The Sandaime wasn't a believer in fate but the coincidence was just too much, even for him. Naruto would have fit perfectly with that class and grown up similar to his father. But that's when things started falling apart.

It started even before Naruto began at the academy. A group of students accosted the Hyuuga heiress and Naruto came to her defense. The situation spiraled out of control and soon Naruto was actually accused of attacking the Hyuuga heiress. It was nonsense but the Hokage couldn't squash the rumors that washed over the whole village. Few people were willing to believe the truth, even from his mouth.

People had wondered about Naruto for a while, as they had only seen him on rare occasions in the village and most had never seen him. They knew that he was in the village, they just didn't know where. The rumors spread so fast and were altered so much because people where almost desperate to hear something bad about the Kyuubi container. It was almost like they had been waiting for gossip in order to spread it as far as possible and prove they were right all along in hating the boy.

After that, Naruto was completely alienated among his classmates. There was really nothing the Sandaime could do and his plans were beginning to fall apart almost before they even started. Time passed and then it was Rayleigh's death that had altered his plans even further. Rayleigh had asked the Sandaime to let Naruto graduate earlier as he had already learned everything that he needed to know at the academy and there was no point in him staying for another five years. The Sandaime relented to the request and Rayleigh died not long after that.

Naruto had taken Rayleigh's death as hard anyone would and then there was the problem with the Ichiraku's. The Sandaime was coerced by Shakky to let Naruto leave the village for a while. He was against it at first but the Fire Temple was probably the best place for Naruto at that point and it was probably as secure as the village. The monks didn't talk to anyone outside and the few people even knew where the Fire Temple was.

Once Naruto returned, there was no real place for the Sandaime to put him. He wanted Naruto to go back to the academy but there was no reason to as Naruto had already graduated and wouldn't be learning anything. So, he put Naruto with Izumo and Kotetsu. The choice had been to keep Naruto out of trouble as well as get him acquainted with team work and working with others. Naruto had always been a loner and the missions he had done during his brief stay with Shakky were all done by himself. Perhaps his quick decision had backfired as Naruto had great success working with those two chunin. Nearly every mission they went on developed into something more. Naruto was even offered a position with the new twelve guardians when he was a little older but he turned it down.

Two years after returning, Naruto had progressed even farther ahead of the children his age. The Sandaime could even consider him for special jonin and he knew the boy was already working on or perhaps had mastered his second nature affinity. However, the Sandaime still wanted Naruto to be close to the children of the clan heads and still wanted him to rise to be a Hokage. The team placements didn't go how the Sandaime had planned though. No one wanted Naruto on their team and Kakashi was the only jonin that didn't care one way or another.

Ideally he would want Naruto to be on a team for around five or six months and get to know the other genin his age. The chunin exams would come and Naruto would be promoted to chunin. He would perform some missions and perhaps even go on a training trip with Jiraiya. After that, Naruto would come back to the village and with just a few more years, he could be Hokage.

The problem was that his plans had long since fallen apart. The other students still didn't like Naruto when he spent a week in the academy, even after so many years apart. Naruto also wasn't on a team that the Sandaime had envisioned. Besides that, Naruto had no aspirations for being Hokage and was so jaded by the village that he was a flight risk. 'At some point, all the pieces I tried to put together just slipped through my fingers.' thought the Sandaime.

There was no really point in putting Naruto with genin his age as he had long since surpassed them. Any hope of forming connections with the children of the clan heads had probably passed too. It seemed pointless now but there was no one else who the Sandaime could see that could be Hokage in the future unless he considered his two students. One was perving around the elemental nations supposedly getting information from a spy network that he was maintaining, though the Sandaime had only received a handful of reports from him in over a decade, and the other was gambling and drinking her sorrows away. What was he supposed to do?

This wasn't the first time that the Sandaime had tried to 'guide' the lives of others and had everything go awry. The first time was with his student Orochimaru. The Sandaime saw such greatness and genius in the boy that he had tried to guide him to being the next Hokage. With the wars and missions along the way, at some point Orochimaru changed. The boy he once knew turned darker and stopped forming any connections with the village or anyone else. He developed new dreams and goals that were rather twisted. It wasn't long before the disappearances around the village started. The Sandaime thought that Orochimaru was the cause but he didn't do anything until he was forced to take action. In the moment where he was supposed to stop his student, he couldn't and let him go.

The next time it happened was with his own son, Asuma. He had thought that Asuma would follow in his footsteps. Asuma's older brother had no desire to be a ninja so Asuma would inherit all of the Sandaime's techniques. However, Asuma had no desire to even sign the monkey contract and he chose trench knives over a bo staff. The Sandaime tried to get Asuma to train more and work on all the aspects of the ninja arts but his son was rather lax when it came to training and had no motivation or drive to get stronger. At some point, and after many fights, Asuma accepted a position with the twelve guardians against the wishes of the Sandaime. It was only after Asuma returned that they had reconciled. The Sandaime still didn't approve of his son's laziness though.

This situation with Naruto had turned into a similar debacle. Naruto didn't even like the two other genin on the squad or his sensei. He could have just promoted Naruto and put him back with Izumo and Kotetsu but a promotion to chunin right after graduating would create so many questions.

The Sandaime was trapped in the web of secrets and lies that he himself had created. He was still surprised that no one had come to him and demanded to know where Uzumaki Naruto had been for the past five years. The Sandaime did try to hide Naruto's absence as best as he could but it was inevitable that questions would be raised eventually. It was a conversation that he had been expecting all this past week from ninja, the clan council, or the elders.

The Sandaime knew it wasn't fair to put Naruto on that team but what else was there to do by that point? 'Perhaps the rift between himself and the other genin could still repaired if he was around them more. They would see that he is not what the rumors and villagers make him out to be.' thought the Sandaime.

Usually jonin sensei would test their genin graduates individually to determine their teamwork and potential as genin of the village. Only a handful of the graduates of the academy became real genin under a sensei. If the Sandaime had all three jonin, Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi, do their genin test together, than perhaps peoples opinions of Naruto would change. Pitting that many genin against three jonin, might even show which genin are willing to work with each other and which aren't. It also might give a chance for the genin and teachers to see who Naruto really was.

'It might work.' thought the Hokage and he would have to call the sensei together later. He could feel that something troublesome was already headed to his office.

x-x

Nara Shikaku was the head of the jonin ninja of the village as well as the head of the Nara clan and he was currently on his way to the Hokage's office to talk about Uzumaki Naruto. It had just recently come to his attention that Uzumaki Naruto had come back to the academy for the final week of classes and to graduate. The information was news to Shikaku as he hadn't realized that the boy wasn't in the academy before that and the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't remember the last time he had heard anything about the Naruto. The information source wasn't exactly reliable as he had heard it from Inoichi who heard it from his 'little princess' and while Yamanaka Ino did gossip almost as much as her mother, she wasn't a reliable source for any information concerning Uzumaki Naruto.

The last thing Shikaku could remember hearing about the boy was the scandal over the Hyuuga heiress but that the gossip had long since dried up concerning his alleged attack. After that, Shikaku couldn't remembered hearing anything concerning the boy at all. He supposed that it proved the saying, 'Out of sight, out of mind.'

The saying explained that something could be easily forgotten or even dismissed if it is not directly seen. Naruto had been alive and living in the village for twelve years and Shikaku had never actually seen him. He had never seen the boy walking in the village or at the academy when he went to pick up his son when Shikamaru was younger. He had no idea what the boy looked like before Shiakamaru had given him a description when he asked him. He couldn't remember hearing about anything concerning the fact that Naruto wasn't at the academy.

Asking his son, Shikaku had learned that Naruto had left the academy several years ago. Five years to be exact. The only reason that Shikamaru could remember for the absence was because Naruto was sick or something. Shikaku asked why he hadn't told him before about Naruto leaving his class to which his son replied that it would have been, 'too troublesome.' From asking his two former teammates, Akimichi Chouza and Yamanaka Inoichi, he found that their children said the same thing and that neither men could remember hearing anything about Naruto or that he hadn't been in the academy.

The question then was, 'How had no one noticed that Naruto wasn't at the academy for five years?' Shikaku supposed it went back to the 'out of sight, out of mind.' Around the time that Naruto had stopped going to the academy, the Uchiha clan had been massacred. 'Was it possible that people were so focused on that news and gossip about that incident that they forgot about Naruto?' it seemed unlikely and yet here he was going to the Hokage's office to ask.

None of the students in the academy had liked Naruto and though he didn't want to admit it, Shikaku had told his son to be cautious around Naruto and to watch out for anything concerning the Hyuuga heiress. The Hokage had told him and the other clan heads that the incident was all a misunderstanding but he was still concerned about it anyway. 'Seeing as none of the students wanted him there anyway, when he left, they just didn't bother to say anything. It was probably a relief for them not to have him there, despite him not doing anything in the two years he was in the academy.' thought Shikaku.

Just recently, the scroll of sealing was stolen but the Sandaime had cleared Naruto of the crime as apparently the chunin teacher Mizuki had henged himself to look like Naruto when he stole the scroll. Shikamaru had also told him that Naruto had failed the exam and yet he was in the academy the next day with a forehead protector as if he had passed.

That was something else that Shikaku wanted to ask. He could have waited for the next meeting but his wife had told him to just go ask the Hokage and not sit around and wait. As Shikaku neared the door to the Sandaime's office, he saw Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu walking to the office from the opposite direction. He groaned as it would be even more troublesome to have them in the room when he asked his questions and he knew they must be there for similar reasons that he was.

The ninja elders seemed to know why the Nara was there and all three entered the Sandaime's office after knocking and being given permission.

x-x

The Sandaime repressed a long heavy sigh as three people entered his office. Although he had been teammates with two of them, they were now his advisers but liked to overstep their bounds. The third person was probably the smartest in the village and jonin commander of the village. The Sandaime didn't really want to keep any secrets from them but he would and had spent time coming up with answers to what they would want to talk with him about.

The two elders stood in front of his desk while the Nara took a seat. The Sandaime just stared at his guests and waited for them to say something. Shikaku was in the chair looking rather bored while the elders were having a stare down with him. At least Homura was, Koharu always squinted her eyes so much that he had wondered if they were even open.

It was Koharu that spoke first, which was no surprise to the Sandaime as Homura was rarely the first to speak of the two, "We have recently been made aware that Uzumaki Naruto has not been in the academy for some time. Where exactly has he been and when were you planning on tell us about it?" asked/demanded Koharu.

"You've only recently become aware of that, he's been out of the academy for five years?" said the Sandaime with a perplexed look. "As for not telling you, I am under no obligation to tell anyone anything about Uzumaki Naruto..." said the Sandaime and before the elders could comment he continued, "...As per the agreements made years ago, any information concerning Naruto is classified and under my discretion to divulge. I don't have to tell you anything."

Again the elders tried to protest while Shikaku adopted a thinking pose. He had forgotten about that ruling by the council that gave the Sandaime those privileges concerning Naruto. Any information concerning Naruto was sealed to keep it safe. It was put in place after someone had infiltrated the village to look for information about Naruto or potentially kidnap him.

The Sandaime had gotten the elders to calm down enough that he could continue talking. "I don't have to divulge that information but was planning to at the next ninja council meeting. I knew that many of the clan heads would have questions about it and the elders would demand to know." stated the Sandaime while glancing with a dull look at his former teammates and he continued, "The reason that Naruto has been out of the academy for so long was for personal reasons."

"Personal reasons?" questioned Shikaku as that explanation could be used as an excuse to hide any number of reasons. He knew that Naruto was having a difficult time at the academy from the Hyuuga incident but was it that serious that he had to take off for five years?

"Yes personal reasons." stated the Sandaime without adding anything or giving any further information away.

"Could you elaborate a little further on these 'personal' reasons?" questioned Homura while adjusting his glasses.

The Sandaime could tell that the three people in front of him were rather annoyed that they were not given the proper information and made to specifically ask for it. He wasn't going to give the real reasons for Naruto being out of the academy for five years so he went with the half-truths that he had come up with. "Agoraphobia."

A silence ensued as the group of three councilors absorbed what the Sandaime has just said.

"A-agoraphobia?" repeated Shikaku as he was a little unsure. That had not been the answer that he had been expecting.

"Yes, the fear of being in public places or unsafe places without having somewhere to hide and..." started the Sandaime but he was interrupted, "We know what it means." stated Koharu.

"And that's the reason he hasn't been in the academy for five years?" questioned Homura.

The Sandaime merely nodded and continued, "Yes. Naruto-kun had a rather specialized case and started before the second Hyuuga incident but got worse as a result of it. I suppose you could call it more of a social anxiety disorder than agoraphobia but its really not that different. He grew uncomfortable being around any crowds or just the villagers in general. The academy was just as bad. He started making sure that no one would see him when he traveled around the village and there are only a few places in the village that he even considers safe anymore. He stopped talking to anyone except those that he knew and felt he could trust. I couldn't just let him sit in the academy as it was starting to affect his grades and attendance. Something had to be done so he was moved out of the academy and given alternative schooling." finished the Sandaime while nodding his head gravely. The story was mostly true as Naruto did show signs of having either of the disorders that he gave them. It was minor though but they didn't need to know that.

"Alternative schooling?" questioned Shikaku.

"Yes, he was schooled in an environment that he felt was safe." said the Sandaime.

"He received special treatment?" questioned Koharu.

"No, I don't really see it as special treatment in the way that you do. He just learned everything that he needed to know for the academy from someone that wasn't a chunin teacher and put back in the academy for the last week of class." stated the Sandaime.

Koharu was about to ask who had taught him or if he had been taught anything extra when Shikaku asked, "My son told me that Naruto didn't pass the academy exam, yet he was there the next day with a forehead protector?"

The Sandaime thought for a second before he spoke, "Did Naruto say that he failed or did the teacher say it for that matter?"

Shikaku thought about it before he answered, "No I don't think he did. Shikamaru just noticed the lack of a forehead protector."

"Naruto probably just didn't where his forehead protector because he prefers a bandanna to a head band. He most likely pocketed the forehead protector and later had it placed on a bandanna, then wore it the next day." said the Hokage in a very smooth voice with a shrug.

Before Shikaku could say anything else the Sandaime spoke again, "If you want I can show you Naruto-kun's grades. They clearly show that he passed."

The three people in his office nodded and the Sandaime pulled out a sheet containing Naruto's grades. The sheet just listed his scoring but did not have a date on it. Only Shikaku noticed the lack of a date on the paper and thought it was a little strange but the grades themselves were much better than Shikamaru's. The paper showed that Naruto scored very high in his testing and probably had one of the highest grades in several years on the practical section of the academy exam.

Shikaku didn't really care if Naruto had a little bit of special treatment. It was obvious to him that the academy was probably a terrible place to learn at the time because of the scandal so he wasn't going to question the Sandaime any further about the home schooling. He felt it was probably the best solution if the boy's grades and attendance were being affected by such a disorder. The Sandaime's explanation was most likely leaving things out but it did explain why he hadn't seen Naruto and where he had been for the past five years. It also explained Shikamaru's observations at the academy. He was still rather suspicious but it was nothing that he couldn't live with and the real explanation would likely be rather troublesome.

The elders on the other hand were not that convinced that what the Sandaime was telling them was the whole truth. They had known Hiruzen for years and he had never lied to them. Was it possible that Naruto's absence managed to be unnoticed for that long or was something else going on? They weren't sure and because of the ruling about Naruto, they may never be able to find out.. They were against Naruto receiving any special treatment but if the boy really did have such a disorder than perhaps it was unavoidable. They were still curious as to who taught Naruto but decided to hold off on the question for now. Perhaps they would mention it at the next council meeting.

The unscheduled meeting was over at that point and the three guests to the office filed out the way they came. The Sandaime held in his sigh until after they had left and were out of earshot. He had hoped that they wouldn't try to press him any further. He was lucky that Naruto had become so gifted at not being seen in the village. Even when he went out on missions with Izumo and Kotetsu for two years, he hadn't been seen by anyone in the village. The Sandaime still couldn't explain how people didn't ask any questions or notice that Naruto was gone after only a few months of being out of the academy and also for the rest of the five years.

He had learned a lesson long ago. It was almost twelve years exactly. He learned that secrets concerning Naruto shouldn't be revealed. He could still remember that day twelve years ago. Looking back, it was foolish of him to think that the village would honor the Yondaime's sacrifice and treat the boy like a hero. The Sandaime hadn't even been able to get that information out to the crowd gathered in front of the Hokage tower. As soon as he mentioned Naruto and the Kyuubi being sealed into him, the shouts had been deafening and his words were lost among the noise. Nearly every person gathered wanted the child to die for the damaged and lives that the Kyuubi had taken.

They didn't see a child like he saw. They didn't see a sacrifice made by a desperate Yondaime and they certainly didn't see a hero that had spared them all from the kitsune. They saw some kind of walking reminder or even the Kyuubi given human form. They weren't angry enough to try and physically harm the boy if they had the chance but the Sandaime knew that many of them wanted to and had entertained those thoughts. That was the one day that the Sandaime's faith in the village, the will of fire, and everything that he had spent his years as a ninja of the village were questioned.

It was probably the biggest mistake of his life. His mistakes with Orochimaru or even his son were really nothing compared with that. He had destroyed the life of an innocent child by revealing a secret that had been kept for nearly seventy years. He had been so wrong that day and had made such a stupid decision. That same child now held such greatness in him, yet no one was capable of seeing that and the people that knew who Naruto's parents were, didn't really care.

He would not reveal anymore secrets about Naruto because of what had happened. He would not make a mistake like that again. There really wasn't a way to determine how people would react to it as most people reacted very differently when something concerned Naruto as they did when it concerned anyone else. How would people react to Naruto being adopted when the clan council voted against such a thing? How would they react to knowing that Naruto had been trained as young as possible and by someone that was easily a kage level shinobi during his prime? And how would people react to knowing that the boy that they scorned was a prodigy in many aspects of the ninja arts and had graduated earlier than most in the history of the village? In the last twenty years, there had only been only a handful of ninja produced by the village that were as capable and strong as Naruto. Out of that number, all but one was dead and that person was missing-nin.

He couldn't predict the answers to those questions and that was a problem. If he left Naruto with Izumo and Kotetsu, what would happen? Again, he wasn't sure. Nothing that concerned Uzumaki Naruto was easy to predict or simple. Despite all his years and experience, he just couldn't make the right decisions when it came to Naruto.

The boy was like a force of nature. He couldn't be predicted and no one could tell what exactly would happen around him. He couldn't be controlled either and would do what he wanted or thought was right despite what everyone else said. Rules and tradition that everyone else followed meant very little to him. Naruto would simple ignore them. The boy seemed compelled to walk a different path from everyone else and do things differently.

The only thing that he did know was that he was supposed do what was best for the village. The village needed a strong leader for the future and Naruto was the best choice of his generation for Rokudaime or possibly Godaime. It was unfortunate that he had to make decisions like that and he had a feeling he would regret it and that it would hurt his relationship with Naruto. Hopefully, by the time the chunin exams came around in five months, Naruto would show the village just how strong he was and be promoted to chunin like he should have been years ago. After that, he could move Naruto off of Team seven.

x-x

'Thirty-Six Pound Cannon.' Naruto said and released a large spiraling attack with his sword swing. The attack sped at the rock face and exploded. Though it had been powerful and exactly like the attack mentioned in the memoirs, Naruto still gave a heavy sigh.

Naruto had to use wind chakra and chakra flow to use the technique. He just didn't have the same strength that Zoro did and couldn't use the attack the same way. When he didn't use any wind chakra, the technique was a fraction of its strength with the wind chakra.

It was rather frustrating that he still wasn't able to perform the same technique despite so much training. He was also rather confused on the subject of using wind chakra. On one hand, it allowed him to use/mimic several of the techniques of Santoryuu without the required strength but it wasn't the same. From all that he had learned from the memoirs and his books, Zoro didn't have chakra and couldn't sharpen his swords with wind nature chakra, so it seemed like a shortcut.

The swords that he had were made to use chakra flow and weren't katana as they were far shorter. They also weren't nearly as strong as the swords that Zoro must have used. The memoirs and books made Naruto think that Zoro's swords had been nearly indestructible and his short swords weren't at that level.

Naruto stood in the quarry and stared at his sword. 'Perhaps when I get real katana and get older, I'll be able to use Santoryuu how he used it.' he mused. Naruto was still years younger than Zoro when he set out from his dojo and went into the real world to achieve his dreams. As much as Naruto didn't want to admit it, he would have to be patient and keep training to get stronger.

His thoughts drifted from his swords to his new 'team'. He had been less than thrilled when the Sandaime had put him back in the academy and completely annoyed when he had found out his new team. 'I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of genin doing D-rank missions for five months.' thought Naruto as his grip on his sword handle tightened.

It was at that moment that a thought occurred to him. 'What if I didn't pass the test?'

That was an interesting question as Naruto had never considered it before that moment. Would the Sandaime send him back to the academy for a year? He wasn't really sure and perhaps it was best not to test it. Naruto did know that it was doubtful that the Uchiha would be sent back to the academy. If anything, the team would be passed because the last Uchiha was on it, regardless of anything Naruto did.

'What should I do?' he thought as he stood in his training area. The sounds of Sora training at the opposite end of the quarry and breaking rock with his legs could be heard in the background as he stood and pondered.

'What would Rayleigh do in my situation?' he thought. A smile formed on his face as he started thinking about the answer. 'I don't think he would let it get to him or really care about the situation. He'd probably just try to have some fun or mess with people.'

It was at that point that Naruto finally had his answer. So what if he didn't get promoted, it wasn't like he was going to be staying in the village for much longer anyway. 'It would only be six months and instead of complaining about being on a team that I don't want to be on, maybe I should make my teammates complain that they are paired with me.' and he chuckled sinisterly at the thought.

'Its not like I would learn anything even if I was promoted to chunin anyway. I'd probably already know it or could learn it on my own no matter what rank I was.' thought Naruto and his stress and anger over the matter began to dissipate.

'Does it really matter what I do in my last year in the village or what rank I have?' the answer to the question was that it really didn't matter.

'I've had pretty good luck so far with missions and I don't think I would like any of the A or S-ranked missions that come with a higher rank.' thought Naruto as those missions would probably involve aspects of being a shinobi that Naruto didn't want to be a part of.

'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.' he thought while grinning, 'I wonder how long it would take before the Hokage starts hearing complaints about me?'

x-x

The following day, Training Ground Three

*Two hours after the schedules meeting time

x-x

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY!" Sakura shouted for the sixth time as she stood near Sasuke and waited for not only their sensei to arrive but their other teammate to arrive as well. Sasuke hadn't said a word to her and had ignored her advances. The only consolation was that he had ignored Ino's advances as well. The two other academy teams were also gathered there and apparently the Hokage had wanted all three teams to take the same test together.

"I don't think your team is really cut out to be genin, Forehead." stated Ino with a smile and Sakura just turned her rival with a grin, "If our team fails then I go back to the academy with Sasuke-kun."

It was at that moment that Ino's smile dropped and she said shouted, "Where the hell are they! Asuma-sensei, go find them." and she pointed in a random direction.

Asuma merely sweat-dropped as he smoked another one of cigarettes while Shikamaru muttered about troublesome woman and Chouji continued eating chips. They along with Team Eight, and most of team seven had been waiting for two hours for Kakashi and Naruto to show up for the 'survival training.'

Team Eight were sitting on the ground around one of the training posts while Kurenai stood off to the side. Anyone passing by could easily tell that she was rather annoyed at the two late arrivals. Hinata and Shino were relatively quiet while Kiba and Akamaru were panting from the heat as the sun was blaring down on them and the temperature was nearing the peak for the day.

It was at that moment that Kakashi appeared in a plume of smoke and said, "Yo."

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" yelled Sakura and Kiba covered Akamaru's ears to protect them.

"Well I was...are we missing somebody?" stated Kakashi as he looked around and noticed one person missing.

No sooner than he did this than Naruto came around the bend while reading one of his books. He was walking at a sedate pace as if he didn't have anywhere to be. Though he didn't show it, he had been surprised to find so many chakra signatures in the training ground and he idly wondered what was going on. Naruto stopped at the clearing and peaked above his book to look at everybody else and their glares.

"Did you get lost on the road of life too?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto turned to look back the way that he came then turned back to Kakashi and said in a serious voice, "I don't recall seeing that street anywhere. As for why I'm late...I took a shortcut."

The majority of the gathered ninja sweat-dropped at the question and the answer while Kakashi thought, 'Darn, I was going to use that excuse tomorrow. I guess I'll have to choose another one.'

"Now that everyone is here..." Kakashi started and he ignored the glares sent at him for saying that when he was just as late, "...we can go over the rules of the 'survival test'." The genin teams listened closely and Naruto continued reading his book while leaning against one of the training posts in the clearing.

"The goal of the test is to get the bells which each of us will have by any means necessary." stated Asuma as each jonin took out a pair of bells and attached them to their waists.

"You will have an hour to complete the test." said Kurenai and Kakashi added while removing a clock from his jonin vest, "Any one who doesn't have a bell by the end of the hour will fail and be sent back to the academy."

"But sensei, there's only six bells?" Sakura protested and Kakashi just said, "Yes, three of you will definitely fail while its possible that six will pass."

A few of the genin shouted in disbelief at the unfairness of the rules while the rest were deep in thought on test and what to do. Most were incredibly worried about the test as it seemed more difficult than any of them originally thought.

It was at that point that Asuma and Kurenai glanced at their fellow jonin. 'That isn't how the bell test is normally given.' thought Asuma and Kurenai thought, 'Is this why all the teams he's ever tested failed? He gave them extra rules, lied to them, and pitted them against each other.' Kakashi just eye-smiled back at them and added one last thing. "You should also come at us with the intent to kill."

The statement caused shock on most of the faces present and Sakura spoke a moment later, "But what if we hurt you sensei?"

The three jonin tried to keep a straight face at the question as it was obvious that they were being underestimated by some, possibly the majority of the genin, "Don't worry, we're jonin. We can handle anything you throw at us." stated Kakashi with confidence and another eye-smile while the other two jonin agreed.

There was a silent and very nervous pause between the two groups. The jonin were watching and analyzing the genin in front of them and the genin were in deep thought. It was Shikamaru who broke the silence, "Are there any other rules? Can we go after any of the three jonin or just the one we were assigned?"

The three jonin glanced at each other and a silent agreement followed, "You don't have to get bells from a specific jonin. You can go after any of us." stated Asuma as he puffed on his cigarette.

Once that question was answered, Naruto raised asked his own, "You walk around with a working alarm clock?" he asked Kakashi.

"Yes." Kakashi said while glanced at the alarm clock that he had in his hand.

"Then why don't you ever use it?" asked Naruto and the clearing was once again silent. Kakashi stared at Naruto while everyone else stared at Kakashi. The other jonin were looking at him and expecting an answer as they had to wait for him to show up and the genin were rather surprised at the question as only one or two had caught that.

"Its a special alarm clock that I only use for genin tests." replied Kakashi and the people present looked at him in disbelief or with a glare.

"Lets get this test started." said Kakashi while ignored the looks and set the alarm clock. "You'll have one hour to each get a bell. BEGIN!" said Kakashi and the genin scattered into the surrounding area.

Except for Naruto.

"Your a rather strange one." said Kakashi as they three jonin stared at the lone genin in the clearing. He along with the other three jonin could easily tell where the other genin were but focused on the lone genin in front of them.

"I could say the same about you and your haircut." replied Naruto.

"Shouldn't you be hiding? The basics ability of a ninja is to be able to hide oneself." asked Asuma.

"I am hiding...in plain sight." responded Naruto and he sat down with his back against the training post. Ten second later he fell asleep and the jonin as well as the hiding genin just stared at him. Many different questions went through their minds.

'Does he plan on sleeping through the whole test?'

'What a total moron.'

'You've got to be kidding me.'

'What kind of idiot goes to sleep during the middle of a test?'

'How can he sleep at a time like this?'

'How can he not be the least bit nervous?'

'I wish I had talent like that. It usually takes me at least five minutes to fall asleep.'

"Well I guess that makes one genin we don't have to worry about." said Kakashi and he walked up to Naruto and pulled out his ninja wire. A few second later, Naruto was tied to the post and still asleep. Kakashi sighed as he finished as it meant that his team was already close to failing.

x-x

A few moments after Naruto was tied to the post, the jonin left the clearing in a burst of speed. It was at that point that they genin began their movements. Because of the rules and the lack of rules, the teams had broken up as several genin went to pursue their own interests. Ino had left her team and went to find Sasuke before Sakura did. No one had said that the teams would stay the same and if she and Sasuke managed to get bells, then they might be placed on the same team. Sakura was also trying to find Sasuke for similar reasons.

Without Ino, that left Shikamaru and Chouji to work by themselves without a third teammate. Shikamaru already knew the point of the test but wasn't sure what would happen if they didn't have Ino. He didn't have the time to go searching for Ino after she left their group in search of Sasuke and was more concerned with getting a bell for himself and his friend/teammate. Chouji was snacking on his chips and waiting for Shikamaru to come up with a plan. Shikamaru had three choices of sensei to try and capture for the bells but the problem was that he knew little information about any of them.

Kiba had left his own group to go after Kakashi and his bells. The rules that were given for the test had an affect on him as he wasn't exactly thinking clearly and just wanted a bell and to get some payback for Kakashi being so late. The last thing that he wanted was to be sent back to the academy or have to tell his mother that he was sent back to the academy, he wasn't sure which was worse. Shino and Hinata had stuck together in a team of two and Hinata had already found where Kurenai was while Shino had a good idea of the direction she was in thanks to his kikaichu beetles. They thought they should go find their teammate but Hinata found that Kiba was headed in a different direction from Kurenai which indicated that he was after a different jonin from their sensei. They made a decision to go after their sensei without Kiba but if they failed, they would try and find their teammate and try again.

Sasuke was off on his own and planned to wait until Kakashi got distracted in order to attack and he had no intention of working with anyone else as they would just hold him back. He was entertaining ideas of going after one of the other jonin as he didn't think the one he had been assigned was very dependable or competent.

The last genin was seemingly sleeping against the post but that was actually one of his shadow clones. His plan was to attack from the shadows and make sure that everyone thought he was still tied to the log. He made a big scene of it because everyone saw it and wouldn't suspect him while he could act with impunity in the test. If a bell went missing from one of the jonin, the last person they would suspect would be him and if it was revealed that it was him, they would be left wondering how he did it. The real Naruto was moving through the training ground unseen by anyone else and was still debating about who he was going to go after and if he should get more than one bell. According to the rules, he only needed to get a bell and then he would pass. He could tell that the test involved teamwork but he really didn't want to work with anyone else and he was sure no one wanted to work with him. The rules that Kakashi had thrown in on the end had given him pause but as long as he had a bell when the hour was over, by Kakashi's own rules, then he would pass. If anyone said differently, then Naruto would just take it up with the Hokage or try and get back on the team he had been on for the past two years.

x-x

The three jonin were sensing for the genin in the area. They could tell where each one was and get an idea of what they were doing. None of them payed Naruto any attention as he was tied up and not going anywhere.

Kiba seemed to be heading after Kakashi along with Sasuke while the duos of Team Eight and Ten were heading after their assigned jonin sensei. Ino and Sakura seemed to be searching for someone and all three jonin assumed it was Sasuke.

x-x

With Asuma

x-x

Though he didn't show it, Asuma knew right where Shikamaru and Chouji were hiding near him in the bushes. He also knew why Ino wasn't there and couldn't keep a slight frown off his face because of it. The normal bell test wasn't supposed to have the extra rules that Kakashi had added to it. The teams had broken up with only four genin staying in there original teams and none of the genin had formed new teams but went after jonin on their own. It was rather disappointing as he had thought for sure that the team he had chosen would pass but now it wasn't looking nearly as promising.

If they had been alone with just his team it would have worked out but the addition of the other teams, specifically Sasuke into the mix, had changed all that. Ino had abandoned her teammates in favor of her crush which was the exact opposite of what was supposed to happen. It made him wonder just what Kakashi was thinking when he did these tests for genin. The failure rate was already high but the white haired jonin seemed determined to make it even higher and make up ridiculous rules to pit the genin against each other.

'For a man who thinks so highly of teamwork, he sure seems determined to destroy it.' thought Asuma and he was brought out of musing as the remaining members of his team made their move.

A small strand of shadow emerged behind Asuma and quickly moved towards him to attach to his shadow. Shikamaru wasn't near the shadow but had used the surrounding shadows to increase the length and attack from Asuma's blind spot. However, the jonin knew all about the Nara techniques and easily evaded the shadow but was caught slightly off guard when he heard a shout of, "Human Bullet Tank."

He turned to see that Choji was using one of the well known jutsu from his clan. The ball of genin rolled right at him but the speed wasn't very fast and Asuma was again able to evade. 'So Chouji will try to corner me or move me in position for Shikamaru's shadow bind.' thought Asuma as he kept as aware of his surroundings as possible to be ready to dodge. He didn't know where the shadow would come from as their were several different shadows in the area for Shikamaru to work from.

The easiest way to make sure he didn't get caught would be to throw projectiles where he knew Shikamaru was but the test wasn't about him going all out against genin and he would humor them to see what the end result of the plan was.

After a few more dodges from Chouji and shadow tendrils, the human wrecking ball moved past and smacked into a tree and stopped spinning. Asuma didn't have to dodge that far but was caught when a tendril of shadow shot out along the ground from Chouji and captured his shadow.

'Using his own teammates shadow to further the length and get me by surprise.' concluded Asuma as he tried to move but the technique held him firmly in place. It was rather impressive for two genin and Chouji would no doubt be removed from the shadow and get the bells from him. However, the shadow started to lose its binding power and the tendril narrowed until Shikamaru was forced to stop the technique before they were able to get a bell because he had run out of chakra.

'Well it was a good try. If they had their other teammate they would have gotten the bells.' Asuma thought and he left the area with a burst of speed. 'They still have some time before the test is over so I won't tie them up or knock them out. They can rest for a little while and try again' he thought and moved a short distance away to a tree branch to wait.

x-x

With Kurenai

x-x

Kurenai again dodged the cloud of insects and blocked two attack from her Hyuuga genin. She had easily been found by her two genin and Shino had started the ambush with his insects while Hinata had moved in to directly attack. Shino was now using his insects to distract and give opening for Hinata to take advantage of.

The two genin kept Kurenai on her toes as she had to keep moving otherwise she would either be engulfed by the swarm of insects and have her chakra drained or get hit with jyuuken and be temporarily disabled.

It was a good strategy but Kurenai easily saw it coming as the techniques and strategies of both clans were so well known that it was rather obvious to her how her students would attack. She was disappointed not to see Kiba helping out his teammates but the Inuzuka could be rather rash and she noticed how Kiba was glaring at Kakashi earlier so she figured he wanted some revenge against the man for being so late.

Kurenai easily weaved through Hinata's attacks until she noticed that her chakra reserves were dropping. She jumped back to get some distance from the attacking genin and noticed that several of Shino's bugs were latched onto her legs and feet. 'He must have had them crawl across the ground and I didn't notice them.' They weren't enough to hinder her chakra that much but if Shino managed to get any more of his bugs on her it would be a problems.

Moving through a set of handseals, she wove one of her most used genjutsu, "Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death." Immediately she phased out of sight and before Hinata could activate her byakugan or Shino could try to dispel the illusion, two trees grew behind them and bound their hands to the trunks. Kurenai appeared in the trunk above Hinata and said, "You both did rather well but it wasn't good enough to get a bell."

With that Kurenai left the area before Shino's insects could get her and waited to see what her genin would do. They were still bound to the illusionary trees and she wondered if they would be able to escape from it.

The whole test had made her rather frustrated as she hadn't planned to give her genin a bell test. 'I wonder what Sandaime-sama was thinking when he wanted to have all the teams tested together. I don't want Hinata anywhere near Naruto.' she thought and she was even more angry at Kakashi.

'He shows up two hours late and adds his own rules to separate my team. Does he want them all to fail or does he really have no idea how to go about training genin?' she thought angrily and bit her lip to try and calm down. Teamwork wasn't really something that just spontaneously occurred, especially with a genin team.

'At this rate it doesn't look like any of the teams are going to pass.' and she sighed at the thought.

x-x

With Kakashi

x-x

After knocking out both fangirls with the same genjutsu, Kakashi had waited at a spot near the river for someone else to show up and try to get a bell from him. He could tell that Sasuke was waiting in the trees nearby but had yet to make any move. 'No doubt he thinks I don't know he's there and is waiting for me to let my guard down.' thought Kakashi as he turned to face a new challenger. It was Kiba.

"Heh, I'm going to get those bells. This will teach you to be late again. Four Legs Technique." said Kiba as his body changed slightly from the Chakra emanating from it. Kakashi just watched as Kiba tensed and then charged him. Kiba moved rather fast and thought he would land a hit with against the jonin with his elbow but at some point during his burst of speed, Kakashi disappeared from view.

"What the..." said Kiba and before he could look around, he heard a voice behind him.

"You should always watch your back. One ThousandYears of Pain." shouted Kakashi with an evil glint in his eye and before Kiba could identify what the attack was, he was finger poked in the ass.

"WAAAAAHHHHHHH!" yelled Kiba while holding his but as he flew a good distance before landing in the river. Akamaru just barked and went after his partner.

'Its such a shame that this technique has no applications in a real combat situation.' thought Kakashi and before he could do anything else he was hit with several kunai and shuriken.

In his spot in a tree, Sasuke's eyes widened as he had hit the jonin dead on. He waiting for an opening and struck the moment he was presented with one. The body fell to the ground only to reveal a log full projectiles.

"That was pretty dangerous..." said voice behind Sasuke and he turned to see the jonin he thought he might have just killed sitting behind him on the branch.

Sasuke turned to throw a punch but his hand was caught and he was thrown out of the tree to the ground below. He landed on his feet and then jumped to a different area that he had already been to. Landing in the clearing, he looked up to see the jonin already standing calmly in front of him.

"I seem to be pretty popular today but no ones even managed to get near a bell." stated Kakashi with an eye-smile and Sasuke just frowned. Reaching into his ninja pouch, Sasuke pulled out several kunai. They weren't meant to hit the jonin but to set off a trap that he had already prepared.

"I'm not the same as them." said Sasuke seriously and Kakashi replied, "You can say that once you've gotten a bell."

Sasuke was about to throw the kunai when Kiba came barreling into the clearing and slid to stop right near him. "What are you doing Sasuke, I'm fighting him!" said Kiba and Sasuke scowled at the Inuzuka. Before they could get into an argument or a fight, Akamaru barked.

The bark brought Kiba out of the confrontation with Sasuke and he looked to where Kakashi had been standing, "He's gone."

Sasuke looked in the same direction to also find the jonin gone. Both boys started looking around and then up when they heard something beneath them, "Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique" and at the same moment, Kakashi's arms came out of the ground and latched onto a leg from both boys.

The next moment, both Kiba and Sasuke were in the ground up to their necks and unable to move. "Maybe another year in the academy will cool off both your heads." and with that he walked away.

Both boys started arguing with each other over whose fault it was and Akamaru took that time to start digging out Kiba.

x-x

While reading his Icha Icha book, Kakashi took a leisurely walk back to the memorial stone and training posts. He wasn't really in a hurry and it gave him much more time to read his book. So far, he had been rather disappointed with his genin team. 'One genin went to sleep when the test started. That was definitely a first. The kunoichi of the team is too obsessed with her teammate to even try to get a bell and the last one won't work with anyone else or even consider working with anyone else.' he thought with a sigh.

At that moment Kakashi felt something under him and he put his book away. It appeared as though someone was going to use his technique against him. On his next step, he acted quickly and bent over while stabbed into the ground with his hand. He grabbed and pulled up out of the ground what he thought was a genin.

It turned out to be part of a branch, attached to a log. As he stared at the object, he didn't notice a small chakra string coming out of the ground and attaching to one of the bells at his waist. Hearing a noise, Kakashi turned the log around and his eye widened upon seeing two ignited explosive tags attached to the back of it. Rather than jump away, he performed a substitution jutsu.

Siting in the branches of a nearby tree, he saw the sparking explosive notes fizzle out. He waited for a little while but nothing happened. He couldn't feel anyone else in the area and whatever he had felt before was now gone. Jumping down to the ground, Kakashi examined the log. The tags on it were just duds and were never meant to explode. There was also a tag on the bottom which he believed was set to react to someone passing by and probably give the indication that someone was beneath them.

All in all it was an interesting trap. He thought someone must have left it in the area and since it wasn't a lethal trap it didn't violate any of the regulations for the use of the training grounds. Ninja weren't allowed to leave any lethal or even semi-lethal traps in the training grounds after they were done because other people could set them off at a later date. 'Then again, the sealing marks look familiar.' Kakashi thought while determining where he had seen similar fuinjutsu before.

Pulling out his book, Kakashi headed back the way he was traveling before he sprung the trap and didn't seem to noticed that one of his bells was now missing.

x-x

After the alarm sounded, the genin went back to the meeting place. Five people ended up being tied to the training posts. Kakashi only wanted to tie Kiba and Ino to the posts but Kurenai and Asuma weren't about to let him tie up their team members while Kakashi's were not so Sasuke and Sakura were tied together to a post as well. Naruto appeared to still be asleep and was still tied to the post that Kakashi left him on.

The other four genin that weren't tied up were sitting around the posts and positioned with their genin teams they had been placed on. The jonin sensei were all disappointed in one way or another and the entire test had been a disaster. Kurenai and Asuma wanted their teams to pass but they weren't about to just hand over a bell especially if their genin weren't working as a team. Shikamaru and Chouji had been unable to get a bell from Asuma and Hinata and Shino had similar luck with Kurenai.

"Well there's no need for you guys to go back to the academy..." stated Kakashi and the genin were all relieved by this until Kakashi finished his statement, "...because you all should just quite being ninja altogether."

A moment of silence followed as the genin absorbed what had just been said before several started protesting. The main consensus among the genin hovered around a single question, "Why should we quite being ninja?"

"Do any of you know why you were divided into teams of three in the first place and what the real purpose of this training is?" asked Kakashi seriously.

Many of the genin looked around confused at each other to see if anyone knew the answer that Kakashi was talking about. It was Shino who spoke first, "Teamwork."

"Exactly Shino, teamwork." nodded Kurenai to her student.

"Interestingly enough, few of you actually showed any teamwork. Only four of you worked with someone else to try and get bells while the rest tried to work by themselves. However none of you tried to work in a group of three which was what each team was divided into. You were all so concerned about passing that none of you were able to work as a real genin team and suffered because of it. Even the four people who worked with someone else didn't bother forming a group of three despite being able work with anyone else." said Asuma seriously.

"How exactly were we supposed to form a group of three if everyone else was on their own?" asked Shikamaru.

"You could have found anyone else and convinced them to work with you. None of you seem to remember that Naruto was tied to the stump and you could have woken him up and untied him at any point during the test. He probably would have worked with you to get the bells. After all, out of all nine of you, he's the only person that technically passed the training and succeeded in getting a bell. Isn't that right Naruto?" stated Kakashi as he stared curiously at the boy while motioning to the severed string on his belt where a bell used to be.

It was at that point that the genin all turned to Naruto who took that moment to stop pretending to be asleep. "Heh, I guess you got me. I didn't think you noticed or would suspect me." said Naruto sheepishly and despite being tied up, he managed to get his hand into his pocket and remove the bell to jingle it for everyone to see.

The genin all stared at the tied up boy and were rather speechless at the revelation. Numerous questions went through their minds as to how a person that had been tied up for the entire test managed to escape, get a bell from a jonin, and come back to the clearing while also tying himself back up. It didn't make any sense. Asuma and Kurenai were also curious and had questions about how he had done it as neither of them noticed that he had gone anywhere from his post or felt him at any point during the test.

'Its like the perfect crime.' thought Shikamaru as he would never have suspected or thought that Naruto of all people would be able to get a bell and not be noticed. He hadn't even remembered about Naruto during the test and just forgot about him after he was tied to the post.

'I'm still not completely sure how he did it. I suppose he really did 'hide in plain sight' though. No one noticed he was gone or even remembered him during the test. He was able to move through the training ground undetected and set a trap for me.' thought Kakashi and he would have to keep a better eye on Naruto from now on.

He had suspected Naruto because the seals on the trap were similar to seals he had seen in the boys apartment. Each person who used fuinjutsu had a slightly different style of calligraphy and seal writing and Kakashi noticed the similarities. 'He's also the only person who had the opportunity and wasn't being watched. Maybe I should have read that file the Hokage tried to give me.' he thought as he tried to wrap his head around the mystery of the boy tied to the post.

"I suppose there's something else I should tell you too." said Naruto as he spoke to Kakashi.

'Uh oh.' thought Kakashi as he didn't like where this was going or the look he knew the boy had behind his mask.

"The test technically isn't over yet."

Kakashi's eye widened at this and he thought for a moment before he looked to his alarm clock and thought, 'My alarm clocks been sabotaged!'

"What do you mean the test isn't over?" Ino demanded as she was eager not to fail and go back to the academy.

"While everyone was out of the area, I set the alarm for forty minutes instead of an hour. I'm actually not sure how much time is left before the hour is up." stated Naruto and the exact time left was given by Shino from looking at his watch, "We still have eight minutes left."

'So, the test isn't over yet and we just gave away the answer.' thought Kakashi while giving Naruto a dull glare. He couldn't help wondering how much of this the boy had planned ahead of time. 'Its like he's messing with us for fun. We went through all that to learn that the test isn't over yet and its obvious that everyone will pass now as they know exactly how to pass. Its like there was no point to the entire test and now there is no point in continuing.' thought Kakashi.

It looked like he would have his first genin team.

Please Review

(AN: For those that still think that it is strange that no one noticed Naruto was missing, I attribute it to his necklace as he got it around the same time as people would have started noticing he was gone. It works in mysterious ways, some of which can even cover plot holes.)


	18. Chapter 18

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

This chapter turned out longer than I thought it would be so I had to split it up into two chapters. Hopefully I will finish and post the continuation shortly.

x-x

Chapter XVIII: Missions can be adventure or torture

Somewhere in Konoha, about a week after the genin bell test

x-x

Several muffled screams were heard from a forested area in the village. Naruto just sat against a tree and read his book while occasionally glancing up at his screaming teammate. Oddly enough it had started out as a simple mission. All they had to do was capture and return a cat to its owner.

However, they quickly discovered that it was no ordinary cat. At least Sasuke discovered that as Naruto already knew. That was the reason why the cat was latched onto Sasuke's face and Naruto was perfectly unharmed. Sasuke stumbled screaming across the clearing again as he couldn't see anything and was trying to pry the cat off his face with little luck. The claws were attached to his scalp and his cheeks.

'Drama queen.' thought Naruto as he continued to read his book. Sakura was standing not too far away and helplessly looking on as her crush was in terrible pain.

"Shouldn't we help him!" she shouted at Naruto.

"Did he ask for help?" asked Naruto.

"Well...no...but there's a cat covering his.." she said but was cut off before she could finish.

"Then don't worry about it. He's fine. After all he's from the village's number one clan and the rookie of the year. I'm sure he knows exactly what he's doing." stated Naruto with fake enthusiasm as he went back to his reading his book while trying not to laugh.

"I suppose..." said Sakura as everything Naruto said about her crush was true. 'Sasuke is amazing and a genius, well perhaps an amazing genius is a better description. He should have no trouble with a simple house cat, right?' thought Sakura and her inner self agreed. That cat didn't stand a chance against someone like Sasuke.

The radio fizzled and Kakashi's voice came over, "Is the target secure, over."

"Sasuke's handling the situation, over. " responded Naruto and he never took his eyes off his book.

The mentioned boy had dropped to the ground and started rolling. The growling cat just didn't want to come off and he was still screaming. Naruto couldn't make out the words. It sounded like Sasuke was saying, "This is a piece of cake!" At least to Naruto it did, but it could have also been, "Get this cat off my face." The cat seemed to be muffling Sasuke's voice just enough that it was hard to tell.

"Kakashi said to hurry it up Sasuke. We don't have all day for you to play with Tora." shouted Naruto to his teammate. It was at that moment that he had a thought. 'Maybe we should just carry Sasuke back to the Hokage tower to complete the mission.' The cat was technically secure...on Sasuke's face, but all they were supposed to do was get it back to the tower. Naruto raised an eyebrow at this thought as he looked above the top of his book to his struggling teammate.

x-x

Later that week

Sandaime's office

x-x

"Do you know why your here Kakashi?" inquired the Sandaime and Kakashi fidgeted a little bit while standing in front of the Sandaime's desk.

"Is it about the missions?" said Kakashi with some hesitance.

"For the most part, yes. Your team has had three D-rank missions and only managed to complete two of them. There have also been several complaints on some of your missions. That's hardly what anyone would expect for a new genin team. Failure to complete D-rank missions is very rare and your team's track record so far is not looking very good. Would you care to explain?" said the Sandaime as he awaited to hear a good explanation.

"Which one would you like to hear about first?" asked Kakashi hesitantly.

"Perhaps the mission where to painted a fence in the village." stated the Sandaime.

"Well...we painted a fence white. That was about it." stated Kakashi pointedly and with some confusion over why he was being questioned about it.

The Sandaime nodded but then added, "So you didn't have your genin paint a message on the fence?"

'Message?' Kakashi thought and replied, "No, the fence was entirely white, there was no message."

"Perhaps not during the day but at night the glow-in-the-dark paint reveals it." stated the Sandaime.

"What kind of message?" asked Kakashi with both curiosity and a little dread.

"ICHA ICHA RULES, in large lettering across the entire fence." the Sandaime stated seriously.

Kakashi's mask kept his smile from being seen but the Sandaime knew it was there. 'I didn't even notice him painting a message.' thought Kakashi while trying not to chuckle. He had watched his genin paint the fence and never would have suspected that Naruto was secretly painting some kind of message and he never noticed the boy using a different paint than the one they had been given.

"It might be funny now but you don't know the full situation. Do you have any idea whose fence that was?" asked the Sandaime seriously as he would have normally been chuckling along with Kakashi if the situation wasn't so serious.

"No." Kakashi replied with more dread than before.

"So you didn't ask them to advertise that participle adult literature on the fence of the most outspoken protester of the Icha Icha series of books in the entire village?" asked the Sandaime seriously with a dull glare at his jonin.

Kakashi paled slightly as he realized the situation. 'No wonder the homeowner was glaring at me through the window while my students were painting.' he thought.

"I didn't ask them to write anything on the fence and they only used the paint that was supplied." stated Kakashi seriously.

"Good. That will go a long way with the lawsuit against you." said the Sandaime while nodding his head. The Sandaime didn't state who he knew had put the hidden message and tried not to smile at the thought of Naruto doing it right under Kakashi's nose.

"Law...suit?" questioned a confused and hesitant Kakashi. He knew exactly what it was but surprised that he was being sued.

"Yes, the homeowner is suing you for defacing her property as well as a few other charges. Its good that it was just a prank by your genin and that you weren't involved or didn't instigate it, but you'll still have to appear in court as your students are your responsibility and you'll have to apologize. You may also have to repaint her fence and for Kami's sake don't read your book while in court." said the Sandaime.

'I'm being sued.' thought Kakashi still with some surprise over the situation.

"The next mission your team performed was to weed a garden, correct?" and Kakashi merely nodded that the Sandaime's statement was correct. "And your team failed that mission because of a squabble between team members?"

"Ahhh...yes. Sakura and Naruto were fighting about it and she went to hit him but missed and struck side of the house...things went downhill after that." stated Kakashi while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

The Sandaime merely sighed as the village was responsible for paying for that damage. It just happened to rain later that day and the clients basement flooded from the cracks and damage to the basement wall from the punch. Team Seven was kicked off the mission and it was listed as a failure in their permanent records.

'Naruto was right, it really was a bad idea to put him on this team.' thought the Sandaime. 'However, Kakashi could also have been a bit more attentive to his team and kept them from fighting in the first place.'

"Your last mission is also of some concern." said the Sandaime.

'But that mission was a success too.' thought Kakashi and he couldn't fathom what could have happened to cause concern.

"Right after that mission was completed..." stated the Sandaime with some delay and he continued, "Tora went missing and it didn't run away this time." finished the Sandaime and he hoped Kakashi could fill in what he was trying to say.

'The Daimyo's wife's cat went missing?' thought Kakashi and he immediately came to the same conclusions as the Sandaime which caused his eye to widen.

"You don't think Sasuke could have..." started Kakashi but didn't finish.

"Until we find a body, there are no suspects but Uchiha Sasuke is still...of interest...to the investigation. A tracking team was unable to find any trace of Tora-kun but Madame Shijimi is rather...upset about the situation and just wants her 'Little Tora-chan' back. If you have any information about it then it would be wise to tell me now." said the Sandaime while giving Kakashi a meaningful look.

"No, I don't have any information." said a shifty Kakashi while not giving anything away but on the inside he was thinking, 'Oh Kami, please tell me Sasuke didn't kill that cat.'

"Is Sasuke the only...person of interest...in the investigation?" inquired Kakashi.

"No, not a chance. Kami knows how many people wanted...something bad to happen to that cat. At this point I think it would be an unsolved case and be done with it but I had to ask. There has been no ransom and too many people holding a grudge against it but never acted on it so it made sense to look at the last people to have contact with it. After all he was last seen when your team brought him back and Sasuke looked rather irritated and those were some deep scars on his face. I doubt anything will ever come of this case unless a body is found." said the Sandaime while shaking his head.

A long silence ensued which Kakashi took as his cue to leave. The Sandaime released a long sigh and thought, 'I just hope that it was a quick death.'

It was rather obvious to him as well as anyone else that the cat was most likely dead, buried somewhere or destroyed with a fire jutsu, and no one would ever see it again.

x-x

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY AYAME-CHAN!" yelled Naruto as he thrust forth his gift to the girl he considered an older sister and had always treated him kindly.

"EHHH! You go me a cat?" said Ayame with glee as she took the mostly white cat from Naruto and held it closely while it purred in contentment at not being strangled by its new owner.

"Does it have a name?" asked Ayame while petting its head.

"Yes its Tor...I mean Taro." Naruto said nervously. 'Yes Taro and not Tora.' he mentally chided himself at the near slip.

It had only been a few days since he had 'liberated' the cat from its crushing owner. He immediately used fuinjutsu to change its fur color and removed the pink bow. Naruto was now mentally patting himself on the back for his decision to give...Taro to Ayame as she was lavishing the cat with love and not pain like the previous owner. Madame Shijimi might have been the wife of the Daimyo but once Naruto saw how she handled her cat, it became obvious why it ran away so much and fiercely fought Sasuke's face to stay free. When they brought it back to the Hokage tower, it had to be pried off the Uchiha's face and it would take some time for those marks to heal.

Naruto doubted anyone would ever discover whose cat it really was as whatever search party/tracking squad that was sent out to find it probably didn't care or really put forth much effort in searching. Naruto knew that already a few genin teams were sent out to try to find it again and he had made sure that Taro was safely in his apartment until it came time to give him to Ayame.

They were all in the joint kitchen of the restaurant as it was slow during this time of day and they could take time to celebrate Ayame's birthday. Naruto looked around the room and memorized the faces and the moment. Sora, Zeff, Teuchi, Ayame, and the other cooks in the kitchen. In less than a year, he would be leaving the village so he knew that he wouldn't have moments like this again with all of the people that were gathered. He didn't let it get to him though and just enjoyed the moment.

x-x

A day's later

x-x

Kiba sighed again as Team Ten walked through the Hokage tower. They were just coming from an unsuccessful mission to find the Daimyo's wife's cat and each genin was rather disappointed but Shino hid it the best.

It wasn't the first time that they taken the mission to return the cat to its owner and they had gotten rather good at it. Kiba and Akamaru had already memorized the cat's sent and with the help of his other teammates, they could easily find the feline. Then it was just a matter of scaring it towards Hinata and the cat would jump into her arms. The cat was then taken to the Hokage tower where it was pried from Hinata's arms, as the cat didn't want to leave, and given back to the Daimyo's wife.

The mission was easy and they completed it in a very short amount of time which made them and their sensei look good. However now the cat was gone and nobody seemed able to find it. That meant they wouldn't get the easy mission anymore and would have to do something else that was even worse. The missions that had passed up were weeding an almost weedless garden, repairing a basement wall, or repainting an already painted fence. Those missions seemed so pointless to the team and Kurenai could tell what they were upset about the current mission and the lack of other missions.

According to what she could tell from talking with Asuma and Kakashi, her team may have the best teamwork. Asuma didn't say much about his team and she had a feeling he was slacking while Kakashi said almost nothing about his own team besides ambiguous words like 'fine' or 'good'.

She was brought out of her thoughts as they came the entrance to the mission room. They didn't have to wait very long before they were let in the room.

x-x

"We have several D-rank missions still but I was wondering if your team would like something else. Perhaps a higher ranking mission?" the Sandaime suggested and Kurenai's cheeks flushed ever so slightly as she was very proud of her genin and knew that neither of the other two genin teams had mentioned anything about taking a C-ranked mission yet. Her team was apparently being recognized among their peers by the Hokage.

"I believe my team is ready." stated Kurenai with serious face but on the inside she was smiling. This was her first team and it hadn't been very long since she had been promoted to jonin so she was thrilled that Team Eight was standing above the rest and that she was able to keep up with her fellow jonin sensei. She gave a quick glance at her team and saw they were standing quietly and were eagerly waiting for the Sandaime to continue.

"I was thinking..." the Sandaime began, "...that this might be a joint mission as it is rather early for a C-rank for a fresh genin team but I would like your team and its teamwork to be an example for one of my other teams that isn't performing nearly as well." said the Sandaime.

It was rather early for a genin team to be getting a C-rank but he did have a reasonably easy one available and he was having trouble with one of his fresh genin teams. Hopefully working alongside a fine example of what a genin team was supposed to be would perhaps show them what they were doing wrong and what needed to be fixed in order to properly work together.

After the statement Kurenai's mind immediately thought of Asuma as he had a fresh genin team and how interesting it would be for them to have a joint mission. A small smile graced her face at the thought and she nodded her head in agreement.

The Sandaime smiled and said, "Good then I will brief you on the mission and your team can meet up and brief Team Seven later."

The smile left Kurenai's face at the statement of what team they were doing the joint mission with. 'Kakashi's team is having trouble?' she thought and gave Hinata a brief glance to see what her students reactions were. The girl was rather surprised at the statement and then seemed downcast as she shrank in her coat.

x-x

A few hours later

x-x

Instead of finding Team Seven at the training ground that they frequently used, Kurenai had to travel to Kakashi's apartment to find the jonin. The entire way she wondered why their team was not training. 'Its only one o'clock.' she thought incredulously and wondered, 'Shouldn't they be training or if not training then performing a mission.' However the Hokage had said they would be at training ground three, yet no one was there.

Kurenai did know where Kakashi lived so it wasn't that difficult to find the silver haired jonin. The man was just returning from his apartment and holding his groceries in his arm when they found him. After letting him put his groceries away, they set out to find his teammates. Sasuke and Sakura were rather easy to find. Sasuke was training in the Uchiha compound training area and Sakura was at home doing nothing ninja related.

They then set off to find Naruto. Only Kakashi knew where Naruto lived and Kurenai found it slightly odd that his teammates had no idea where his home was. Arriving at the building, they went to one of the apartments on the top floor. Kakashi knocked but no one came to the door after waiting a moment. Kurenai looked to Hinata who activated her Byakugan but found that no one was in the apartment.

"Where might he be if he isn't at his apartment?" asked Kurenai to his teammates and sensei. Kakashi started thinking about it, while the two genin looked clueless.

"Do you know of any places that he frequents or would be around this time?" Kurenai asked surprised by the lack of any answer and Sasuke just shrugged and Sakura said she had no idea. 'Don't they know anything about their own teammate?' thought Kurenai 'Then again, they didn't even know where he lived.'

"Its possible that he's getting lunch and I seem to remember that he likes to frequent Ichiraku's restaurant." stated Kakashi with an eye-smile and Kurenai was relieved that at least Kakashi had some idea where his student might be. They found out from a waitress named Ayame that Naruto had been there but had left after eating and was most likely training somewhere in the village.

Kurenai by that point didn't want to try and continue looking any further so, being that they were in a restaurant, they sat down to discuss the mission and eat lunch. They agreed to meet at Team Seven's meeting place the following morning so that Naruto would be there and then explain the details of the mission to him as well. It was when they were finished that Kiba noticed something.

"Does that cat look familiar to you guys?" asked Kiba as he stared at a mostly white cat that was curled up on the end of the counter-top. Shino and Hinata looked at the cat and noted that it did look vaguely familiar. Kurenai also looked at the cat and raised an eye brow as it did look slightly familiar.

Sakura didn't notice anything but Sasuke shivered when he looked at it and he wasn't sure why. Kakashi also glanced at the cat and his eye widened slightly. 'Well that's one mystery solved. At least I know Sasuke didn't kill it.' He also noted how content the cat seemed and thought that he should refrain from telling the Sandaime where it was but would tell the Hokage that it was still alive and in better hands.

x-x

The following morning, Team Seven's meeting place at a red bridge near the hot springs

x-x

After finding the note on his door from Kakashi about a mission that would be outside of the village the following morning, Naruto made sure to only be ten minutes late to the meeting place and was surprised when he got halfway there and he felt Team Eight along with his teammates and sensei. Naruto frowned at what his sensor abilities were telling him but proceeded anyway.

"YOUR LATE!" Sakura yelled at Naruto as Kakashi had apparently been right on time and now he was receiving a full decibel attack of his pink haired teammate instead. Naruto just shrugged and said, "Sorry I'm late, I slept in a little longer." and Kakashi nodded curtly at the statement while the genin and Kurenai twitched slightly at the answer.

A slightly annoyed Kurenai stood in front of the two groups of genin. Kurenai looked over the genin to make sure they were paying attention and started the briefing that her team had already received, "The mission that we have been given is a C-ranked courier mission to Sunagakure no Sato in Kaze no Kuni. We are to take a scroll to a merchant named Saito in the hidden village. Any questions?"

Naruto raised his hand and tried to hide his smile, "Will there be time for sight-seeing?" and Kurenai looked at him incredulously. "I don't know as there is anything of note in or around Suna that any of us would want to see." she responded and just played it off as the boy not knowing anything about the country and village they were going to.

Before the mission would even start, an inventory was taken of the genin's supplies. The jonin wanted to make sure that their students had packed the right provisions and supplies for the coming trip. Naruto was actually the only person who didn't have a backpack and instead had a medium sized scroll on his back which he packed everything into so it was very understandable that he started getting bored while everyone else removed items from their backpacks for the inventory.

Looking over the supplies that was now arrayed on the grassy area near the red bridge, Naruto noticed that Kiba had several scrolls left out that were most likely storage scrolls for water canteens due to the blue coloring. They were going into the desert after all and it would take over a week to reach Suna. Looking at the scrolls, Naruto smiled ruefully as he saw the opportunity for mischief and Kiba was probably the best target for the prank that he had in mind.

Ten minutes later, the inventory was complete and Kiba was packing up his items to put back in his backpack when he noticed something, 'Huh...I only remember packing four storage scrolls with extra water in them, but there's five scrolls here. Guess I must have packed another or mom probably put one extra one in my pack. See did keep nagging me about packing the right amount of water for myself and Akamaru.' he thought with a shrug and put all five scrolls into his pack.

x-x

Since everything checked out and the genin were ready to go, they started down the road to the main gate. Naruto was instantly aware of the looks he was getting from the villagers and tried his best to ignore them as well as the voices he could hear. He never went down the main road and always stuck to back roads and alleys to make his way through the village so that he wouldn't have to pass by the villagers. Naruto didn't bother to look at any of the villagers and did his best to immerse himself in his book. 'Maybe because the Hyuuga heiress is walking near me they are more...enthusiastic about it that normal.' he thought derisively.

He had to wonder why exactly they were taking such a route to the front gate during one of the busiest times of day. They could have just jumped across the roofs to get where they were headed much faster. Being on the outside of the group, he had noticed that none of the villagers were willing to move out of his way so he ended up bumping into many people along the busy street. That just caused them to give him even dirtier looks. The only people that didn't were part of the ninja group he was traveling with and the people who didn't know who he was.

Naruto also ignored the glances of the genin he was walking with as they had been wondering why the villagers were so hostile and glaring. Kiba almost said something but was silenced by Kurenai who didn't like the situation anymore than Kakashi did. Neither one of them knew that Naruto was treated this badly in the village and both were thinking that they should have taken a different route.

Naruto was glad when they finally arrive at the gate so they could leave this place behind, for at least a little while.

x-x

Running through the trees to River Country gave Naruto time to calm down. The villagers had gotten to him a little bit and he found himself rather angry at the situation. The pace he had set was actually starting to wear down the rest of the genin while the jonin were able to keep up. Kakashi had made sure that he was leading the group as Naruto had a tendency to get lost very easily.

Naruto was actually rather eager to see Wind Country and Suna. His books had an entire journey in a desert country and he wanted to see and experience the desert for himself. Idly, he wondered what Team Eight were going to do as he found it rather strange that they would be wearing such heavy coats when they were headed for a much hotter climate. He had brought a light cloak to wear and keep the sun off him and he was positive he would need it when the terrain changed from trees to nothing but sand.

Thankfully no one had asked him about why the villagers were looking at him while they were walking down the main street of Konoha. He wondered if they just thought it was because of the incident that happened so many years ago as none of the genin knew of the Kyuubi and he wasn't about to tell them. Naruto didn't want to answer any questions but he had felt and could still occasionally feel glances directed his way.

He could tell that most of the glances were from the sensei of Team Eight, Kurenai, as well as Hinata. It wasn't the first time that Naruto found himself wondering what exactly he should feel concerning the girl. He wanted to be angry with her for what had happened and her role in it but he found it difficult to stay mad at her and after his time at the Fire Temple he just wanted to put everything behind him and forget about what happened. Holding onto the hatred wasn't doing him any good.

'It wasn't completely her fault, her clan was also to blame, as well as a large portion of the villagers.' he told himself and wondered if he should be angry at the entire Hyuuga clan or perhaps just the villagers. He still held hatred inside himself, which his inner self liked to remind him from time to time but it was difficult just to let go of it completely and that was something that he hadn't been able to learn while at the Fire Temple.

x-x

While they managed to get through Fire and River Country through the trees and at a good pace, the onset of the desert slowed everything down. Running through the desert was never advisable as it was so easy to overheat or become dehydrated. Therefore they were forced to walk the rest of the way to Suna. With nothing to do or look at besides endless dunes, it left a great deal of time for thought.

Kurenai noted that talking was and had been very limited between genin teams, among a single team, or just between individual genin. Shino and Hinata were both not very talkative at all and Sasuke wanted nothing to do with his teammates or her team. That really left Kiba and Sakura as they were the most talkative of the group, however they both disliked each other and Sakura was more interested in Sasuke, who refused to talk with her.

Looking towards the remaining members of the group she found Kakashi and Naruto walking nearly side by side and reading similar looking books. She shook her head at the image as it reminded her of Maito Gai and his student whom she had actually met the previous week and she shivered at the thought. The silence was actually broken by Kakashi when he looked at Naruto and asked, "You know I've been interested to known what your reading in those..." and Naruto interrupted before he could finish with, "It isn't porn."

"Ahhh..." stated Kakashi and with that, the brief conversation ended.

Kurenai just shook her head and roller her eyes at the two and glanced over to see Hinata once again looking sadly at the book reading boy. Hinata had confided in her years ago and told her everything about what really happened during the incident when she was five. The girl had even asked for her advice but Kurenai just didn't know what to do. By the time Kurenai had started looking after Hinata, Naruto had already disappeared from the academy, so any advice she could give wasn't helpful. Kurenai had asked the Hokage about Naruto's whereabouts on Hinata's behalf but the Sandaime didn't give her any information about it and told her not to speak of it to anyone.

When Naruto returned to the academy, she wanted to keep him away from Hinata because she didn't want the girl to go through any more turmoil over the incident. She wasn't thrilled when the Hokage had made all three teams do their test together but was surprised when Naruto didn't pay attention to Hinata at all and tied himself to the training post.

She thought that he would hate Hinata and glare at her or even say hurtful things. Kurenai had pictured Naruto as treating Hinata just like her cousin Neji did however that did not seem to be the case, which surprised her greatly. Contrary to her initial belief, Naruto didn't seem to care that Hinata was near him nor did he make any comments or show any animosity of any kind.

The situation was very confusing as Kurenai had been positive that he would act like she predicted. It didn't make any sense to her why he seemed content to just ignore Hinata. He wasn't ignoring her existence but just not caring that she was there. She couldn't believe that he could have forgiven Hinata. People just didn't do that in this sort of situation. Even she herself would have felt some resentment and hatred toward Hinata if she had been in Naruto's position. 'Was he just waiting until they were alone or bottling it all up inside?' she questioned but wasn't sure if she would find an answer. Perhaps the mission would reveal more on the matter.

People just didn't forgive others for such a huge misunderstanding and lie. The situation had gotten completely out of hand right after it happened and the affects had been long lasting. Naruto had every right to be mad at Hinata but it wasn't completely her fault. The Hyuuga elders had told Hinata not to tell anyone about the incident and what really happened. She was forbidden from revealing the truth to anyone and Kurenai had the feeling that the elders may have even threatened Hinata in some way, probably with removal as the heiress or placement in the branch house. Kurenai still had trouble thinking about it without getting angry and wondered what exactly the clan hoped to gain from a lie and what Hiashi was thinking when he agreed to go along with it.

To her knowledge, Naruto had never asked for any kind of reparation from the Hyuuga clan for its refusal to provide details on what actually happened. The rumors about the incident spread like wildfire across the village and the Hyuuga clan could primarily be to blame for it all, though few knew that. She knew that the Hokage had demanded that the clan do something but the clan elders claimed that the incident fell under 'Clan Business' and that the Hokage had no authority to force them to reveal or acknowledge anything that could potentially hurt the reputation of their clan.

The ninja clans of the village had autonomy inside of their own compounds and could rule themselves how they saw fit. If Hinata had been a ninja of the village then the Sandaime would have gotten the truth that he wanted but because she was still in the academy and part of a ninja clan, the Hokage was unable to get what he wanted because the Hyuuga clan refused. In Kurenai's opinion, the whole situation that occurred was rather ridiculous but the only thing she was concerned with was Hinata whom she had known for a while now and treated like a younger sister.

Uzumaki Naruto didn't seem like the person she thought he would be, then again she really had no idea at the time about what kind of person he actually was. It wasn't until she mentioned something over lunch with Anko that she actually found something out. She was genuinely surprised to find out that Anko had known Naruto for a several years before his 'disappearance' and even knew the reasons why he had left but couldn't tell her because it was a village secret. From what Anko told her, Naruto was the complete opposite of everything that the villagers thought he was. For the most part, he had tried to ignore the villagers and stayed away from everyone while keeping out of sight.

'Now I know why he would stay out of site.' she thought as she remembered walking down the street in Konoha. Although Naruto had tried to hide it, she could tell that he didn't want to be anywhere near the main street of the village and wished she could go back and choose a different route to the front gate.

x-x

No matter how far they seemed to travel, the scenery never changed and it never seemed that they were getting closer or farther away from anything. Team Eight was already learning that wearing heavy coats all the time might not be such a good idea in the desert. Akamaru was panting and sitting on Kiba's head, Kiba was also panting, and Shino and Hinata were swaying a little as they tried to walk on.

Team Seven was having an easier time as they dressed lighter however Sakura was ready to drop from exhaustion and Sasuke was trying not to look affected but his hair was matted down and stuck to his face with sweat. Naruto couldn't really be seen as he was wearing a tan traveling cloak that covered his features except for the bulge which were his sword handles were. Everyone believed that he was overheating as well but that was far from the truth. Using wind manipulation, Naruto had created a breeze inside of his cloak that was cooling him off and the cloak wasn't absorbing the rays of sun that was overhead. He was actually rather content in his cloak environment.

It was the first day of being in the desert and Naruto found it just as he expected it. He was actually trying out a chakra control exercise that he had read in one of the scrolls Rayleigh had left him. It was a modification of the tree and water walking exercises and performed on sand. The goal of the exercise was to push chakra out of the bottoms of the feet to keep the feet from sinking in the sand. This technique gave better footing on the sand and would allow a person to run over the sand as if it was a flat and hard surface instead of loose sand.

The slow pace was really getting to Naruto as he knew he could go a lot faster if it was just him. The scroll could be delivered ahead of schedule and he looked over to Shino who was currently the keeper of the scroll they were to deliver. Each day they switched who carried the scroll as a precaution and perhaps for experience. Naruto still didn't like the idea of being a glorified delivery boy. They were supposed to keep the scroll safe until delivery and it was forbidden to look into the contents of the scroll. That hadn't stopped Naruto before though as during the other delivery mission he had gone on, he had often bypassed whatever lock was on the scroll and looked inside. In certain cases he was unable to as he could tell that the scroll contained some kind of trap that would activate if opened and not knowing what kind of trap it was meant that he was better off not opening the scroll. Naruto had yet to look at the scroll that they were delivering as his turn to be scroll carrier had not come up yet.

'It must be really easy to get lost out here? Not a single landmark.' Naruto noted idly as he looked over the dunes that all looked the same.

x-x

A few hours later, the group decided to make camp. The tents were divided up in a strange way. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi had brought their own individual tents while Kurenai and Hinata shared one tent along with Sakura with Shino and Kiba sharing another.

It was right when Naruto finished setting up his tent that he turned around and noticed something on Sasuke's back. It was a large black scorpion. Naruto stared at the black scorpion as it clung to Sasuke's shirt, right around where the Uchiha symbol was. Deciding that he should tell Sasuke, "Oi, Sasuke." He said and the Uchiha turned around.

"What is it, Dobe?" asked a tired and irritated Sasuke.

Naruto frowned slightly and thought about it. "Nothing. It wasn't that important anyway." stated Naruto with a fake smile and rubbing the back of his head.

"Hn." was the Uchiha's response and he went into the tent.

Naruto stared at the shut tent opening for a few moments before shrugging and going into his own tent. A few moments later, he heard a loud scream and couldn't help but chuckle.

x-x

The following day

x-x

"I kinda wish we could have just captured that cat again." Kiba said out loud to the rest of his group as he was complaining about the mission again. It started out with complaints about the sand and then moved to missions in general. No one said anything in return as they were rather tired and just didn't want to speak and waste the water.

"I doubt that would have been an option..." Naruto responded an everyone looked over to the cloaked figure that was reading a book. This had been the first time he had said a single word all day. "...I heard Sasuke killed that cat and buried it in his tomato garden." finished Naruto and the other genin looked rather shocked and Kakashi's slight smile was hidden behind his mask. Sasuke looked shocked as well and scowled at Naruto for making things up about him. There was actually a rumor circulating about something along those lines, so it wasn't actually a lie or complete fabrication. It started as Sasuke being involved with the disappearance of the cat and, as rumors go, was altered and grew to something else.

They stared at Sasuke for some kind of confirmation as to whether he had really killed the Daiymo's wife's cat but Sakura broke the silence when she said, "You have a tomato garden, Sasuke-kun?" with some bit of interest at learning potentially knew information about her crush.

The others looked at her strangely as she obviously hadn't heard the rest of the sentence about murdering a small, possibly innocent, animal. Sasuke merely twitched and decided he wouldn't bother responding with a real answer.

Kiba held Akamaru a little closer and would make sure to keep him away from the Uchiha who had neither acknowledged nor refuted the claim. "Don't worry boy. We just won't talk or associate with him and we should be fine."

"Why exactly did you bring your dog with you?" Naruto asked while smiling as he already knew the answer but just wanted to make the situation worse.

"Idiot I'm an Inuzuka, Akamaru's my partner, we fight together. What did you think I travel with him for?" said Kiba derisively.

Naruto shrugged while secretly smiling, "Emergency food supply?" he offered as his answer.

The rest of the genin gaped at his answer and Kiba yelled, "WHY THE HELL WOULD I EAT AKAMARU? WHO EATS DOG?"

Naruto shrugged again and replied, "Its possible that Sasuke's already dined on cat this month." And the rest of the genin and Kurenai gaped at Sasuke who nearly tripped in the sand.

'Did he eat the cat after killing it and then bury the remains in the tomato garden? The whole team's a bunch of psycho's and were alone in the desert with them for a several weeks.' thought Kiba and decided not to talk or make eye contact with anyone on Team Seven.

'Ahhhh...beautiful silence. No more complaints.' thought Naruto as he flipped the page on his book and enjoyed the sound of the wind.

x-x

That night after they had made camp again, Naruto sat in the sand outside of his tent as it was his turn for watch duty for the next couple of hours. He couldfeel the creatures of the desert start to come out and explore/hunt in the desert. Naruto idly wondered why they didn't travel during the night and then sleep during the day but thought perhaps they would be less noticeable at night camping in the desert. If they camped during the day than the shifting sands could partially bury them. At night, the winds were rather calm and there was less chance of a sand strom at night than during they day.

'The desert gets better at night.' he thought in the chilly air as he listened to the silence of his surroundings and looked at the stars above. It was a cloudless sky and probably one of the best views of the night sky that he had ever seen.

Even at night, the stars could be difficult to see in Konoha due to the streetlights and such that were kept on at night. Crater City was so close to Shakky's bar, and the city never seemed to sleep, that he could never see the stars there very well either. The others times he had been traveling, the night sky had been cloudy and so he was never able to get such a great view as he could on this night.

Naruto was brought out of his staring as he felt a person getting up and about to leave her tent. It was the one person that he didn't want to talk to.

x-x

Hinata had been having trouble sleeping for the entire mission. It was was difficult for her to sleep so close to the boy that she had so terribly wronged. The whole trip had been rather odd to her as she expected him to say something or treat her badly. Almost her whole life she had been looked down on by her father and clan elders as a disappointment, by her sister as pathetic, and by her cousin as a waste of space.

However, the one person who she had actually wronged, didn't treat her any differently than anyone else who was not from her clan. She knew Naruto had every right to be angry with her. The only person she had actually told what really happened, besides her father and the clan elders was Kurenai and for years she had felt horrible on the inside that she had been forced to keep a secret that had made a villain out of a brave boy that had defended her and even encouraged her. There had been times after it happened that Hinata had tried to speak with him but her classmates, teachers, clan members, and even the villagers were set on not letting her anywhere near Uzumaki Naruto. Then he just disappeared.

Nothing about his treatment made any sense as she could remember him being treated almost as terribly by the villagers before the incident even took place. After asking certain people whom she felt she could trust, Hinata had never been able to figure out why he was treated so horribly then or now. No one would tell her and she could tell even Kurenai was keeping secrets from her about it. 'What could be so terrible that no one would even speak of it and how could Naruto-san be involved in it?' was a recurring thought that she had many times over the years.

Sitting up, she activated her byakugan to see who was on lookout and her eyes easily made out the maelstrom of Chakra that was Uzumaki Naruto. He was sitting out in the sand and he turned to look directly at her. 'Did he sense me looking at him?" she wondered and then he turned back to looking out over the dunes.

For a while she was frozen with indecision and couldn't seem to get up from her sitting position. It was now the perfect time to talk with him and apologize but she was afraid of what he would say to her. She had so few people in her life that didn't treat her horribly because of her meekness and lack of skill at her families techniques. Naruto would most likely join that group for what happened but on the other hand she needed to apologize and beg for his forgiveness. She had wronged him.

Getting up, she slipped out of the tent and made sure not to wake Kurenai or Sakura. Hinata approached as silently as she could and looked in the direction that he was looking. The moon was out and illuminating the dunes in the distance. 'Its rather beautiful.' she noted as she stopped walking closer.

"I suppose you came to talk with me alone." Naruto said and Hinata jumped slightly at the voice. It was even and showed no hint that he was angry but perhaps annoyed. 'He has every right to be both.' thought Hinata sadly.

Walking forward she sat down near him in the sand. Not that close but not that far away either. A moment of silence passed and she cursed her inability to speak. 'Its just another weakness and fault.' she thought as she envisioned what her father would think of her in that moment and tears came to her eyes. Of course they would also be scolding her for being within any distance of Naruto but she ignored that thought.

Sitting in the same position he had been and looking in the same direction, Naruto could hear the crying of the person now sitting near him. He wanted to hate her but that wasn't exactly how he felt at that moment. A part of him did hate her, another part felt sorry for her, and the last part just didn't care and wanted this moment to be over and this girl to just go back to her tent. Sensing her chakra, he could feel many different emotions. 'It seems that she feels just as bad for the whole mess as I did. I wonder how long she had been holding onto that guilt and regret. I can also feel a crushing sadness.' No one had ever cried when something concerned him before and this was a strange feeling and moment.

He may still have disliked Hinata but he could see how what had happened had affected her as well. He had been angry at everyone involved and hated them for quite a while. At the same time, she had hated and blamed herself for what happened.

A short time passed as Naruto thought about what he should say. There were any number of possible combinations of words, sentences, and even paragraphs that he could use. He could tell that the girl sitting across form him was hurting and was struggling to try and say something to him and he couldn't really stand to just sit there and make her suffer. 'I just want to put it behind me, its in the past and no amount of apologizing will ever change what has already happened.' he thought and remembered something that Rayleigh had told him:

'There were consequences to the decisions that we make, even if we aren't aware of them.'

'Technically it was my actions that started this mess. If I had never stopped to confront those bullies, nothing would have happened or perhaps the villagers would have found something else concerning me to spread rumors about. That one decision started a whole chain of events that were, for the most part, out of my control. Perhaps some of them were out of her control as well. I guess that's what happens when you choose to get involved. No good deed goes unpunished and all that.' he thought sarcastically with a sigh. 'She feels terrible about what happened, knows it was wrong, and is sorry. I don't know as I can ask for more considering this _is_ Konoha I'm thinking about. The whole village owes me so many apologies it would be pointless to listen to them all, even if they did apologize, but they don't regret any of it. I suppose I could forgive this one person if they felt this way and apologized.'

It was at that moment that Hinata managed to get out the words that she wanted to say, "I-I'm s-so sorry." and she put her head down and waited for whatever was to come of her apology while still crying.

"Then, I suppose I can forgive you." stated Naruto a moment later while looking up at the stars.

Hinata's head shot up and she stared at the cloaked figure. She had trouble believing that he would forgive her so easily. She had done something so terrible and that resulted in nothing but lies and rumors that completely isolated and alienated the boy in front of her. It seemed like she was getting off too easy. "B-but w-why, I-It w-was my f-f-fault?" she asked and desperately wanted to know. "I d-d-didn't t-tell anyone..." but Naruto cut her off by saying, "Everyone does things their not proud of..." and he thought about the men he had killed in Wave Country, "...these things are in the past and can't be changed. You just have to live with it. I can't go on hating a person that feels sorry for what happened, regrets what happened, and apologizes."

'At this point, she's tormenting herself and feeling worse over what happened than I do. If I kept hating her after she apologized and feels so terrible over it, then I might be no better than the villagers. ' he thought.

"You shouldn't torment yourself over it. Most of what happened was not your fault. I chose to help you and to get involved." stated Naruto.

"B-but i-it isn't f-fair." Hinata said in a soft low voice and Naruto didn't argue or dispute the statement.

"W-why d-do they..." but her sentence was finished by Naruto, "...treat me the way they do? I never actually did anything to them or to the village. I suppose its because I exist and because they just don't understand anything about me while seeing me as something that I'm not." said Naruto as he wanted to tell her something but not give away any of his secrets to her.

Hinata quietly thought about the answer and noted how similar it was to her situation. Her family sometimes treated her the same way and she felt that they hated the fact that she existed and was the elder daughter as well as heiress. No one in her family understood her at all, besides her deceased mother, and no one had tried. They all saw her as a failure and not what an heiress should be. It was rather comforting to know that someone else besides her had experienced the same problems and that she wasn't alone as she thought she was. 'If he can deal with it and be able to forgive me, than perhaps I can get stronger and show people who I am.' she thought with a small smile.

A long silence ensued before Hinata thanked him and left for her tent. Naruto still sat in the same place and thought over what happened.

'I don't really feel any different. There was no weight lifted off my shoulders from forgiving someone but the same can't be said for her.' he thought and he could feel a difference in Hinata's chakra. 'Perhaps now I can finally move on and completely put that incident behind me.'

He saw no point in being vindictive and letting the girl suffer. It would have been cruel to continue her obvious suffering over what happened and he would have regretted it if he hadn't have forgiven her after she apologized.

x-x

The next morning was routine for everyone. Kurenai was a little distracted though as she went over what she heard the previous night between her student and Kakashi's. She felt guilty and a little disappointed in herself that she had judged Naruto before she knew him. Though she never would have thought that someone could be so forgiving and perhaps wise beyond his years. If Kurenai didn't know any better, she would have thought he was a monk the previous night while turning back to a ninja when the sun came up.

It was a silly thought but she was happy that her student looked like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Hinata had needed exactly what Naruto had told her last night and she was thankful that it had gone as well as it did. Many other scenarios had gone through her mind while she silently listened to the conversation in her tent. At one point she desperately wanted to go out and comfort her student but everything turned out better than she hoped.

Kurenai wondered whether Kakashi was awake to hear what happened as well. The jonin had given a few more glances than usual at both Naruto and Hinata. On the topic of Naruto, she noted that he didn't seem any different than last night and gave no indication that anything had taken place of any significance. Most genin didn't have that kind of self control or awareness for how others viewed body language. If she didn't know better, she would think that they boy was far more trained and experienced than a genin. It also wasn't the first time she had thought that either.

Kakashi still wouldn't tell the other jonin how Naruto had managed to get a bell from him. That could have meant many different things. It could mean that it was all luck what happened and Kakashi was embarrassed to talk about it or that it wasn't luck and Kakashi was embarrassed because a genin had gotten the better of him. If Kurenai had to choose one option, she might go with having gotten the better of the jonin.

She still couldn't get over how no one had seen, heard, or felt Naruto escape from the ropes, get a bell, and then fiddle with the alarm clock. Of course she couldn't forget that he managed to tie himself back up and almost get away with a perfectly planned out strategy that could fool veteran ninja. The whole exam situation had shown her that the boy must possess a very strategic mind and have the skills to go along with it. Though Kurenai didn't know what those skills were yet as Naruto hadn't shown a single skill or technique to anyone save perhaps Kakashi and again the jonin wasn't talking. The only thing that she did know about his skills were that he seemed to carry three tanto blades on a belt at his left side but she had no idea how proficient or how he used them.

From what she could tell of Team Seven, Sasuke may be the rookie of the year and advanced for his age but, from how Kakashi acted, she knew that the jonin viewed Naruto as the team leader of the genin. Most would have guessed that Sasuke was team leader based on how he acted and tried to lead the others of his team. Sasuke and Sakura didn't even seem to take Naruto seriously and viewed him as being not nearly as skilled as either of them in terms of ninja ability. Naruto also seemed to do everything that he could to support that view. She could tell that Kakashi probably never spoke of it with the rest of the genin but from her perspective, Naruto was next in line in terms of rank. For her team, Kurenai had chosen Shino as the team leader and had informed her genin as such. If anything happened to her or they were separated, than Shino was in charge.

Put together, all these things made her wonder about how strong and capable Uzumaki Naruto really was.

x-x

Continued in the next chapter

Please Review


	19. Chapter 19

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

AN: As with my other stories, I had to wait on problems with the website until I could post and access my stories which is why it has been so long since I updated. It also took forever to proof-read and edit this chapter.

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Chapter XIX: Where did he go?

Somewhere in the desert of Wind Country

x-x

"A-ano...Kakashi-sensei.." inquired Hinata and the mask-wearing jonin turned to face the small Hyuuga.

"Yes, Hinata?" replied Kakashi in a kind voice while looking away from his book and keeping the same pace.

"W-where is N-naruto-s-san?" she finished and it was at that point that Kakashi stopped walking.

Looking left, he saw Sakura and Sasuke and looking right he saw Team Eight. 'That's a good question.' he thought in a slight panic. Kakashi went back to the top of the last dune and looked at the way they had just come from. He only saw seven footprints instead of the eight there should have been.

'Well, crap. I knew his sense of direction was bad but getting lost while following a group? Or did he run off? How the hell did I miss him?' thought Kakashi as his mind started going over possibilities.

Kurenai already had Hinata use her Byakugan to find the lost genin but he wasn't within her range.

"When was the last time anyone saw him?" voiced Shino, speaking for the first time since the trip started.

The others looked at each other and no one could remember seeing him after this morning when they packed up to start walking again but that was hours ago. Most of the ninja present hoped he was okay alone in the desert and would be able to survive until they could find him.

x-x

A couple hours earlier

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'Great, the others all got lost. I turned away for one second and they manage to get out of my sensor range.' thought an annoyed Naruto. He looked around the desert area he was in but couldn't see much due to the sand storm and wondered which direction they had gone or even which direction he had come from.

The wind had suddenly picked up and he had been in a mild sand storm for the last hour or so. Not being able to tell which direction he wanted to take or even where the sun was, Naruto stopped to sit down and decided to wait out the storm. He believed there was no point in wandering aimlessly if he couldn't see where he was going.

Deciding to meditate, he closed his eyes, relaxing, and he made sure to sit with his back to the wind and not get a face full of sand. He had already learned that lesson while in this desert. His mind started wandering though as he couldn't seem to properly meditate. He thought about all the things that had happened since he had been put on this knew team. Naruto found the entire ordeal rather frustrating. He didn't want to be put on this team and it was so boring that he had found himself pulling pranks just to keep for going crazy. He didn't want attention, he just wanted to end the boredom.

Naruto knew that he would hate being on this team but he didn't even begin to consider how bored he would get. Kakashi barely had Team Seven do any training and they never sparred or worked on any ninja skills, at least not yet. Switching himself with a shadow clone had become standard procedure when he started the day with Team Seven and he would go off to train in secret.

At that moment, he found himself really wanting to fight something or someone and wished Sora was here. Out of everyone that he knew in the village, Sora understood him better than anyone and he also wished that the former monk wanted to become a ninja too. 'Instead, he's waiting tables and working in the kitchen at Baratie.' thought Naruto and it made him frown while he thought of it.

In fact, everything he thought of since he started meditating was making the situation even worse. Blocking out all of his thoughts, he started focusing on the sound of the wind around him. It was very calming and he found his troubles being swept away with the wind. Despite it being a hot day, the moment of breeze seemed to send chills down his spine even though he was wearing his cloak.

While focusing on noise of the wind, Naruto never really noticed when he first started trying to figure out which way the wind was going. There was a small whirlwind around him but as time passed it seemed less like a maelstrom and more controlled than chaotic.

The breeze would pick up and then die down a little. It didn't change direction as much as he thought it did. In fact, it actually formed small whirling areas that made it seem like the direction of the wind changed when they passed over him. They seemed to come at regular intervals or he just managed to predict when they would pass by. He wasn't sure which it actually was. The more he examined the storm around him, the more interested it became and he wasn't sure how he managed to find out so much considering that he was just listening to it.

It was at that point that an idle thought crossed his mind. 'How am I going to find my way back?' and interestingly enough, the wind changed direction at that point and went somewhere else. The sudden change was quieter than the rest of the wind of the storm and he almost didn't notice it. This change or break in the rhythm brought Naruto out of his meditation.

His eyes opened and two glowing blue eyes looked over the calm dunes noticing that the storm was gone. He stood up and looked for the remnants of the sand storm in the distance. To him, it looked rather far away and if that was true then why hadn't he noticed that the wind had died down or that the storm was no longer over him. From his perspective, the storm had still been around him just moments ago, but it had apparently already passed by.

Searching around, Naruto looked into the direction that he knew he felt the wind change to at the end of his meditating. Nothing about that direction seemed any different to him than any other direction he could take. The storm had washed way any trail in the direction he came from and he still couldn't sense any chakra from a person within his range. But for some reason he found himself wanting to go in that direction that had been indicated to him.

After taking one last look around, he started jumping in that direction. He used the sand exercise to give himself more traction and a surface to jump from so he was able to travel much faster than walking but he wasn't expending that much more energy as if he was running. Jumping across the sand, Naruto wondered where exactly he was going and he idly noticed that his necklace was glowing slightly but didn't think anything of it. His necklace seemed to do that from time to time. It had even done it several nights ago when he talked with Hinata

x-x

Baraties of Konoha

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Walking out into the dining area with a tray of food, Sora once again cursed the fact that he had to act nice to everyone. Putting on a fake smile for most of the customers in Baratie's made his cheeks hurt. He silently put out the food on the table and walked back to the kitchen. The weights attached to his shins made the task of being a waiter, as well as an assistant chef, very difficult especially when Zeff increased the amount of weight.

Plating a dish, Sora was about to pour the tea when the tea cup cracked straight down the middle. He stared at the broken cup, then looked around to see if anything was going to happen but nothing did. Normally people would take that as a sign that something terrible was happening like someone was in mortal peril, but Sora learned that it usually only meant one thing, "That bastards on an adventure without me again!" he spoke aloud and glared at the broken cup.

While Sora himself had not wanted to become a ninja, his friend/clansman had been on some very interesting adventures because of it, while was stuck in the kitchen or waiting tables. On many occasions, he had thought about reconsidering his decision to not be a ninja. He did after all know quite a bit of ninjutsu and was probably better suited for a ninja position than most who went to the academy.

Zeff had been quite kind to him though and showed him his taijutsu style while working on his training, in addition to showing him how to cook. Sora was very grateful to the head chef but a part of him couldn't help but be jealous at the fact that Naruto was off on some adventure. Lately it hadn't been that bad as he knew Naruto was stuck on D-ranks, but when Naruto had helped save the life of the Fire Daimyo's relative and then been offered a position on the Twelve Guardians, he was almost murderous as it had once been his dream to be in that group, but it quickly faded as he learned what happened with his father.

That was something that Sora was never able to get over until he learned that even Naruto had once had a dream to be Hokage, but it too had been lost at some point during his childhood because of all the things that kept happening to him in this village.

Taking the plate and fresh cup out to the table it was supposed to go to, Sora was stopped when he passed by a table with several Hyuuga at it. It hadn't take long for Sora to figure out just why Naruto disliked the clan so much. Just last week Sora had been lectured by one of the clan when a hair was found in the man's soup. Sora, _politely_ pointed out that it was obvious that the hair was one of his own. No one in the kitchen had long hair of that color and the man actually looked outraged before he demanded another bowl of soup.

Walking out to his next table to wait, he wondered, 'Why do I keep doing this job...' and then he saw who was at the next table he was going to be taking orders for, '…...oh right, its the beautiful women.' he thought as he looked dreamily at the table of women and smiled brightly with a real smile.

x-x

At that same moment somewhere in wind country

x-x

Naruto lept from one dune top to another and made his way in the direction that the wind went while he was meditating. Several hours passed before anything of note could be seen in the endless dunes. In the distance, he could see rock outcroppings and wondered what he would find there. The rocks were rather large and looked like someone had just dropped them into the sand and left them there. He noted that they surfaces were wind swept and admired the designs as he approached them.

Stopping at the edge of the feature, Naruto looked through the openings in rocks and found a small oasis that was hidden away from prying eyes in the center of the formation. He smiled and was about to start walking to it until he spotted several sets bones that were lying around in the sand near where he was standing. He noted that a few pieces of bone looked human. Before Naruto made another step he saw the attack coming and jumped away from the rocky area and back into the desert.

At first he wasn't sure what had happened as with his Haki he had only seen an odd appendage that tried to skewer him. 'Why didn't I feel any chakra signature.' he wondered. The appendage had a barb/stinger on the end of it that was at least as big as his swords and Naruto watched as it got taller until a huge bulge in the sand formed.

The bulge got bigger until the figure of a gigantic scorpion emerged. It was nearly the color of the sand and stood at least forty five feet long and about ten feet tall with the tall stretching an extra twenty feet to the height. Naruto stared at the creature as the remaining sand poured off its now revealed body. 'How could I have missed that!' he questioned himself as he couldn't detect anything until the attack but now he could feel the chakra of the scorpion. The scorpion wasted no time and charged Naruto.

x-x

Konoha, Main Gate

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Sitting at the front gate, Izumo tried desperately to stay awake while on the gruesome gate guard duty.

"This sucks!" said Kotetsu as he fixed the sign attacked to the stand they sat at. For some reason it had just come loose and fallen off. Izumo replied to his other half, "At least we've got the main gate this time. I pity the poor bastards that guard the east and west gates." But that was little comfort to either of them and another silence went by.

"You know I saw something pretty strange the other day." Izumo said trying to restart the conversion.

"Really, what?" responded Kotetsu trying not to sound desperate for something to pass the boredom.

"Well, I was at Ichiraku's and I swear for a second I thought the cat siting on the end of the counter was Tora, but it was a different color than Tora. Still, really freaked me out for second and it even hissed at me the same as Tora used to and get this, its name was Taro, how freaky is that?" said Izumo and he absentmindedly rubbed several phantom wounds on his arms.

"Heh, I can top that. Last week I saw Hatake Kakashi painting an already painted fence, with the same color." said Kotetsu while puffing out his chest a little. He had almost forgotten that he had seen it.

"No way? It must have been a henge! Isn't he on a mission to Suna?" fired back Izumo with some skepticism.

"No, I checked for a henge. It was definitely him and it was right before he left on that mission."

"I wonder why he was repainting a fence? Doesn't seem like something a jonin would do." wondered Izumo.

"Maybe he needs money?" mused Kotetsu and he received a nod from Izumo but the conversation stalled after that.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Izumo?" questioned Kotetsu after a short silence.

"That its morally wrong to be happy that the Uchiha killed Tora?" responded his partner in duty.

"No! I was thinking that we need to get off of gate duty and start doing some real missions again." said a now standing Kotetsu with fire in his eyes and Izumo looked at his friend with some awe while wondering what his friend planned to do.

x-x

Back in the desert

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The scorpion grabbed one of the chakra covered blades in its pincer and tossed the blade and attached Uzumaki further out into the desert. Naruto thumped into the sand and thought, 'This is some kind of punishment for not telling Sasuke about the scorpion, I just know it.' Getting up, he dodged another strike from the stinger and pinching claws of the creature. Naruto skidded back in the sand several feet as he blocked a swing of the claws with his three swords. He wasn't using wind chakra on his swords and just had chakra flowing in them to reinforce the blades.

Several thoughts went through Naruto's head as fought to keep his ground from the claw. At first he wanted to kill the scorpion but that thought had been pushed aside. As he pushed the claw to the right to block the stinger strike, Naruto came to a decision right as the stinger struck the diverted claw with a 'thunk'.

'I'm gonna tame it.' he thought and smiled. This situation was really his own fault for being caught by the clever creature and he came upon the decision when he thought of what the characters in his book would do. They would either have tried to tame it or cooked it for dinner. Naruto wasn't really hungry at that moment and he was a terrible cook so he decided to tame it. To use his Haki, he would have to get in close and get a straight shot at the scorpion's eyes to make sure it would work. Unfortunately the pincers kept getting in the way. Using the final ability of Haki was still hit or miss for Naruto and achieving eye contact with the scorpion would ensure a much better chance of success.

With all his strength, Naruto pushed against the pincer he was holding back and actually pushed the scorpion back for a change. Now free of holding the creature back, he moved himself back to get some space between them. The two stared down each other before both charged forward. Naruto started building up wind chakra around him before he jumped at the scorpion. He spun in the air, touched the ground once before jumping again when the scorpion attacked. Twisting in the air with his swords out, Naruto deflected both pincers and stinger as they tried to grab or impale him. He landed right in front of the scorpion in a a crouch and completed the motions for his technique.

'Three sword style: dragon twister.' Naruto said and let loose a vortex of wind at the underside of the scorpion with his three swords. He had used some wind chakra to enhance the technique to achieve what the real technique should be and also made sure the attack was powerful but not penetrating. The scorpion was unable to defend itself from the torrent of wind underneath it and its legs left the ground as it lost footing and was pushed up into the air a short distance before flipping upside down and coming back down on the side of a sand dune with a thud. Instead of being flipped completely onto its back, Naruto had angled the attack so that the scorpion lay partly on its side. Naruto acted quickly and moved faster when he saw that the scorpion was actually fine, just disoriented, and quickly tried to get back up.

Naruto blocked a strike from its pincer and got close enough to use it. "That's enough." Naruto said in a serious and commanding voice while looking into the eyes of the scorpion. Haki emanated out from him and the scorpion's eyes widened and it became still. It stopped struggling to get up a moment later and its body went limp as it passed out.

Naruto made sure it was out and then put his swords away. He plopped down in the shaded sand on the side of the dune and wondered what he should do next. Night was a few hours off but he had already traveled pretty far. The rest of the group was only walking to their destination. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure where he was and where the rest of the group was. Looking over at the scorpion, he wondered if it knew where to go. Deciding to wait until if woke up, he got bored and remembered what he was carrying.

Reaching into one of his ninja pouches, Naruto pulled out the scroll that was the reason for the mission to Suna. It was supposed to go to a merchant in Suna named Saito. Looking at the scroll, Naruto looked around his current location and decided he would pass the time by reading something.

It was also at that point that he remembered the scroll that he put with Kiba's supplies and smiled while wondering if the Inuzuka had opened it yet?

x-x

Back with the rest of the Konoha group at the same moment

x-x

A disgruntled Pakkun sat in Kakashi's arms and sniffed the air while trying to forget how his summoner had pulled him from his warm bed and onto the hot desert sand. The sand was much too hot for his delicate and pedicured paws. The pads of his feet still felt like they were on fire.

Kakashi was moving around the top of a dune with Pakkun to see if the dog was able to find any trace of his lost student. Pakkun was always his first choice as the small brown pug had the best nose of his pack and arguably was better than many of the Inuzaka dogs. Kiba and Akakamaru had been unable to find anything but Kakashi held onto some hope that Pakkun would come through for him.

"Have you found anything?" Kakashi asked his ninken.

"No...wait...move back in that direction." he pointed with his paw in the direction and Kakashi walked that way. "I think I've got his scent. Its faint but coming from that direction on the wind." and Pakkun indicated the direction by pointing his front paw.

Kakashi looked at where his summon was pointing and thought it was very odd how Naruto managed to get in front of them. The wind could have carried his chakra and scent quite a ways so it wasn't possible to tell how far away he was from them. He decided to extend the short break and let the group rest a little before continuing on. The real problem that they had to worry about was that Naruto had the scroll they needed to complete the mission and given the boys penchant for getting lost, Kakashi doubted Naruto could find Suna on his own. It was more likely he would miss the village completely and keep going into Wind Country, which wasn't a very good idea. While the country itself might have a huge border, most of wind country was untamed area. Only the eastern portion of the country even had villages and beyond that was a dangerous area.

When the borders for the countries were first created, Earth and Wind tried to get as much land as possible and explored as far west as they could. Unfortunately, the exploration teams met nothing but huge and wild animals, gigantic and often deadly forests, and few people survived the expeditions. The countries might be huge but only the portions closest to the rest of the elemental countries were populated. While most summoning creatures did live out in the far western areas beyond what most maps showed, there were also creatures that perhaps weren't nearly as big, or maybe they were, and didn't possess the same kind of intelligence, but were very dangerous nonetheless.

Kakashi compared those western areas to the Forest of Death which some believed was an untouched remnant of what the elemental countries used to be before it was pushed back by expansion and increase in human/ninja population. Some even believed that Fire Country was just grasslands with sparse mountains and a single area as the only forest until the Shodai created all the trees. Once in a great while, larger creatures did show up in the elemental countries but were dealt with by ninja to keep the area safe. Kakashi only hoped that Naruto didn't become completely lost and stayed where he was, as journeying past Suna and out into the _real desert_ was not something that he wanted for one of his students.

Turning around, Kakashi told the rest of the group to take a short break and they went to find some shade in a nearby dune from the afternoon sun. Team Eight sat together and the pair of genin from Team Seven were not far off. After traveling through the desert for so long, the jackets of Team Eight were all unzipped but they were still flushed from the heat. A panting Kiba reached into his ninja pouch and took out one of the scrolls he had brought with him that had his water supply. Each scroll had a few storage seals that held full canteens of water.

Pulling out the scroll, Kiba unrolled it and put his hands into the required handseal to unseal the contents.

Instead of the normal plume of white smoke, a loud and very recognizable sound came out which was accompanied by a very noxious plume of gas.

"OH KAMI IT STINKS!" Yelled Kiba and the other genin covered their noses as they ran away from the Inuzuka and his scroll. "MY EYES THEY BURN! MY NOSE IS ON FIRE AND IT STINKS! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?" and he ran away from the scroll then tripped and fell into the sand while screaming out random curses.

x-x

"You have to admit it was a little impressive." stated Kakashi to Kurenai while reading his book with one hand and holding Pakkun under in his arm with the other. It had been ten or so minutes since the group had started moving again after the 'break', and they would make camp in an hour or so.

"No. No it wasn't." Kurenai replied while trying to keep a straight face.

"Even I've never heard of someone sealing their own flatulence into a storage scroll to prank an unsuspecting teammate. I'm not even sure how he did it. I guess I'd have to look at the seal, but Kiba tore it up." Kakashi said and didn't try to hide the smile on his face nor the disappointment at not being able to look at the seal.

Kurenai remained walking as she tried to keep her poker face. The prank was juvenile and disgusting. 'Completely unappropriated for a mission.' she told herself and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the misfortune of her student. 'Poor Kiba, he got it right in the face. His mouth was open and everything.' and she again bit her lip even harder to keep the smile and laughter at bay.

Kiba hadn't exactly been the easiest of student to work with. He was very prideful and often boasted about his ability but while he wasn't completely arrogant, his current level of hubris was a problem as his actions could put himself or his teammates in jeopardy should they follow his lead. It may not have been the best choice to knock him down a few pegs but it certainly had been entertaining. At least from her perspective as she hadn't been near the genin when the 'stink scroll', which was what Kiba referred to it as in-between the curses, went off. If she had been closer to the 'plume' then she would have felt very differently.

The Inuzuka's eyes were still watering. He was also still complaining of his nose burning and the horrible smell. Fortunately for Naruto, the Inuzuka was still unaware of his involvement in the prank and still thought it was someone else, "Why would mom do that to me?" he kept saying as he rubbed his eyes and walked in a drunken fashion through the sand. The poor Inuzuka still thought that his mother had been the one to put the scroll in his pack and Kurenai had a feeling that Tsume might claim credit for it, despite not being involved.

Kakashi knew exactly who was behind it and had voiced his opinion to her. She had already suspected him and agreed with Kakashi while wondering if the other genin thought it was Naruto too. It was just the sort of scheme that Naruto would have been able to pull off, given his track record with the genin exam, and it made her wonder whether 'getting lost' in the desert was to remove himself from the situation to keep from getting blamed.

Kurenai shook her head slightly at the thought and looked over to the rest of the group. The others were not thrilled with the prank at all. Especially since most of them had been rather close to ground zero.

Sasuke wasn't really thinking anything as he wrinkled his nose and moved a little farther away from Kiba..

'What a stupid prank.' Sakura thought while inner Sakura was thinking, 'That was great, got him right in the face! Shannaro!'

'I wonder if I should tell Kiba it was Naruto?' Shino thought and he debated on the pros and cons of telling his teammate who the culprit was.

'Poor Kiba-kun.' thought Hinata as she carried Akamaru in her arms as Kiba was still smelly and would probably remain that way until they camped.

'That was some fart.' thought Pakkun while rubbing his paw over his nose.

x-x

Back in Konoha, Sandaime's office

x-x

Barging into the Sandaime's office, Kotetsu walked up the surprised Hokage, with Izumo following him, and said, "We want better missions."

They both stared at each other until the Sandaime's surprised look turned into a small devious smile. "Interesting, you both certainly have come a long way and I can see the will of fire in you both. As I was just saying before you interrupted, I was thinking of creating a new three person team. Since you both have just volunteered, meet your new team leader." stated the Sandaime and he motioned behind the two chunin to the other occupant in the room.

'A new teammate.' they both thought and slowly turned to meet this new person...who turned out to be Mitarashi Anko.

"KYYAAAAA" Kotetsu screamed and jumped into Izumo's arms.

'So much for your bright idea and that courage you had earlier.' thought a scared Izumo as he held his friend bridal style. His knees were shaking so much that he thought he would drop them both.

Sitting ten feet away in the couch that was in the office was Anko. She was sitting with her legs crossed and using a kunai to clean her fingernails. Finishing the last nail she looked over at the two idiots and said, "Alright, but I can't promise they'll last very long." and she gave a rueful smile that turned into a malicious laughing which sent shivers down both chunin's spines.

Izumo's knees finally collapsed and both fell to the floor. Looking up from their spot they both collectively thought, 'Why does he treat us so terribly?'

x-x

Unknown location in Wind Country

x-x

Night arrived several hours later and by then the scorpion had already woken up. Naruto had given him a very distinct and descriptive name and they had set out for Suna. Apparently the scorpion, who was now named Sasori-chan, knew the way to the hidden ninja village and agreed with a nod of its torso/abdomen that it would take him near there. Once they were near the village, they would part ways and Naruto would give Sasori-chan some of his water for the trouble.

Looking across the night landscape, Naruto enjoyed the view from his ride. Its possible he would be to Suna in the morning. Looking to the mission scroll, he wondered what he should do about it. It was going to be a problem with no easy solution.

x-x

The following day

x-x

Waiting behind a few dunes were Teams Seven and Eight. They were laying along the side of the dune while Kakashi, with Pakkun sitting on his back. and Kurenai were the highest up on the dune and looking over the peak. In the distance was a rock formation that was the defensive wall of Sunagakure no Sato. They had been waiting for several minutes for news on Naruto. The genin were confused why they were hiding behind the dune but they were following their jonin sensei but neither were giving them any details.

A mound started forming in the sand near Kakashi and the head of a one of his ninken popped out. "Looks like your suspicions were right. His scent disappears and then reappears on the other side of the wall." Bisuke informed his summoner and Kakashi cursed in his head at his student and the mess he had created.

While Naruto may have had the scroll they were delivering, he didn't have the scroll which was signed and stamped by the Hokage. This was needed in order to get into Suna as the village didn't just let in ninja from another country without a reason, non-agression pact or not.

A small part of Kakashi hoped that since Naruto was somehow making his way in the right direction to Suna, that they would be able to catch up to him or that he would be waiting near the gate because he couldn't get in. Unfortunately that was not the case. Naruto had apparently infiltrated the village.

Pakkun may have been Kakashi's best tracking dog but Bisuke was his best infiltration and digger. The small droopy-eyed dog had just approached the wall to track Naruto's scent and apparently it disappeared at some point so the dog had continued on searching just inside the village, which was no easy task and managed to find Naruto's scent on the other side. This mean that Naruto had infiltrated a ninja village and would perhaps caused a international incident if he was caught. At best it could just be something that was pushed under the rug so to speak but at worst Naruto would be caught and interrogated.

The numerous different outcomes of such a fiasco were all to plain for Kakashi to think about. It could start a war or get them all killed by the Kazekage and the ninja of Suna for spying or something along those lines. 'Think. Think.' he kept telling himself as he tried to come up with a plan. Technically Kurenai was in charge but the situation concerned his student and he had much more experience in tense and difficult situations from his time in ANBU. He had never actually encountered a mission like this before but still had experience of other infiltration missions to work from.

Going over his options, he thought about the situation. Naruto had infiltrated a ninja village which should be impossible for a genin but apparently wasn't impossible for Naruto. 'I really need to look at his ninja file.' thought Kakashi as he kept thinking about what was going on. 'He managed to get in without anyone seeing him initially, and I can only hope he hasn't been captured yet.'

Naruto was probably still wearing his cloak which boded well as it meant that no one had yet to see his face or forehead protector. 'OK, its not a very good plan but we can't sit here forever. The longer we stay, the more likely it will be that Naruto is found out or captured.'

Making a quick handseal, Kakashi performed his jutsu.

x-x

Making there way up to the entrance/passageway of Suna, as the village only seemed to have a break in the wall and not a real gate, the two jonin were followed by six genin and akamaru. They were greeted by six ninja with Suna forehead protectors and Kakashi handed over the scroll that outlined the mission details and was signed by the Hokage.

The lead Suna ninja at the gate took the scroll and thoroughly looked it over. 'They must not get many visitors.' thought Kakashi and he wasn't about to say it out loud. After the scroll was read, the lead ninja then looked over the jonin and the genin present.

The man didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until he came upon the masked boy with three knives or blades of some kind and his gaze lingered. Several of the genin had broken eye contact under his gaze and he had noticed that they seemed rather nervous and one or two had glanced at the masked boy. However the boy looked him directly in the eye and gave no indication that he was intimidated.

It was at that moment that Kakashi slowly reached for something in his ninja pouch. The Suna ninja tensed but calmed down when Kakashi pulled out an orange covered book and started reading. Kurenai tried not to twitch at the gesture as she knew that Kakashi was likely trying to get the ninja to not consider them a threat and to get the guards attention off his shadow clone of Naruto, but it was just a ridiculous tactic.

"Fine, you can enter the village, but if anything happens you'll be accountable. Don't overstay your welcome." the Suna ninja stated gruffly. The jonin nodded and walked forward, followed by the genin. It was obvious to everyone present that they were under scrutiny from eyes that they could and could not see as they entered into the village.

It was definitely different from Konoha. The weather was obviously completely different and the buildings were different but all the same color. The main street lead right to the main building of the village and many different narrow side streets and even narrower alleys were everywhere along the way. It seemed like it would be easy to get lost in this village if you weren't familiar with the layout. Kakashi's mood worsened when he thought about Naruto and where in the village he might be.

x-x

One hour earlier

x-x

Siting on a ledge, a cloaked Naruto looked over the village before him as the sun was coming up. The sun came over the rock wall of the village and lit up the buildings, it was a rather beautiful sight. The sun began warming him from the last remnant of the colder night air.

'And Kurenai said there was no time for sight-seeing. Though I guess she didn't count on getting lost in the desert. Hopefully they can find there way, though they don't have Sasori-chan to guide them.' he thought and continued to look out over sunlit the buildings. He hadn't been in the village for very long, only an hour or so, but had already found one of the best places to sit.

It was at that point that a nearby door opened in the rock face. He had seen the door there when he sat down but he hadn't felt a chakra signature until the door was opened and now could feel two total. Naruto looked over and blinked as an old woman stepped out. She had gray hair, a hat on, and standard clothing for Suna.

They stared at each other for a moment before she yelled, "Get off my lawn you damn kid!" and Naruto tilted his head to the side before looked around at his surroundings. He on the cliff of the village and surrounded by rock and some sand. "What lawn?" he answered and the woman looked back at him with pursed lips before stating, "No solicitors!"

Naruto tilted his to the side again and said, "I'm not trying to sell you anything." A short break ensued before the woman made to speak and then her head slumped forwards.

Naruto stared at her and a breeze blew by in-between them. He started to think that she had fallen asleep and it wasn't until he felt her chakra disappear that he took the situation more seriously. "Oh Kami, she's dead!" he said and got up check her pulse.

No sooner than he had started towards her when her head shot up, "WAHAHA, I was just playing dead..." but her sentence stopped when she saw that the boy had jumped back in surprise and tripped on the ledge. For just a moment she didn't react as she saw him go over the edge of the cliff. Her eyes widened and she rushed forward. Before she jumped down to try and catch him before he reached the bottom, she stopped as she noticed no one was there.

"You got me good..." Naruto said and Chiyo jumped from the voice behind her. "...but I got you better." Naruto finished and started a light chuckle.

Chiyo quickly used her medical jutsu and put her green glowing hand over her heart, 'Yep, its still beating.' she thought thankfully and turned to the laughing brat who got the jump on her. Narrowing her eyes, she reached into her ninja pouch for her kunai and Naruto stopped laughing.

'Uh oh.' he thought and started running.

x-x

"Can't we work this out!" Naruto shouted back at the cackling woman behind him that had been chasing him for what seemed like a half an hour. Unlike Anko who could only throw kunai a few at a time, the old woman seemed to be able to use chakra string to throw groups of kunai at once and he had already switched places with a trash can that had been pierced by at least a dozen kunai.

Chiyo chased after Naruto and rounded a corner to come face to face with someone she hadn't seen in years. She stopped dead while both individuals stared at each other. She looked into the teal eyes with the dark rings around the eyes and glanced at the red kanji on his forehead. Chiyo hadn't actually seen Gaara very much since she performed the sealing. Standing and looking at each other, Gaara's sand started to come out of his gourd, as apparently, he considered her a threat or thought she would attack him.

Looking into the eyes of the boy whose life she had forever changed, whatever Chiyo had been feeling before was replaced with sadness and guilt before she walked away. Confused, Gaara looked after her and wondered why she had looked at him like that. Most people were afraid of him and tended to run or a few were trying to kill him as they had been sent by his father but it had been a while since that had happened. Most people that knew of him either stayed out of his way or hid from him. Few looked at him with such emotion. He would have to investigate this later.

Gaara turned his head slightly to glance behind him and the head of a cloaked boy with glowing blue eyes came out from behind his gourd. "That was close. Thanks for letting me hide behind you gourd-man. The names Ryuuma, maybe I'll see you around again." and with that Naruto started to walk away from the redheaded boy before he heard the noise of sand getting closer to him. He was about to jump away when he also heard someone yelling in his direction. This apparently caught Gaara's attention as well as the sand moved back into the gourd.

"Gaara, its time for training and then we have a mission." said an older blonde girl who oddly possessed four pony tails. Naruto glanced at the group coming towards him and noted the girl, another boy, and a jonin. Naruto tried walking away but he just couldn't stop staring. 'Is that guy wearing adult sized children's cat pajamas!' and that one thought kept him rooted to the ground next to the still confused Gaara. Normally he elicited some fear from people but today, within minutes of each other, he had already found two people that acted strangely around him.

Both genin and their sensei walked to the redheaded boy and then glanced at the cloaked figure that was standing near Gaara. Baki narrowed his eyes as he wasn't sure who it was and could not identify the person in anyway. It wasn't until the boy spoke up that Baki had his answer, "Hey, where did you get those cat pajamas?"

Unfortunately for Naruto, every ninja in Suna knew the uniform and insignia of the puppetry corps. Baki could tell that the suspicious boy had more chakra than any civilian and from what he said was obviously not of the village. Suna never received any tourists and their was little reason for any non-Suna ninja to be in the village. In his mind, this meant one thing. The person was likely an intruder and should be apprehended for questioning.

x-x

Present time

x-x

Naruto had managed to dodge and evade every ninja that had come after him. The most surprising was when the genin team and jonin sensei tried to apprehend him. Sand had shot out from the gourd on the redhead, whose name he learned was Gaara, and tried to capture him. After that, many more ninja had joined the chase but it wasn't that hard to evade them, even in their own village. He even had time to stop at a few stores and get the items that he required and wanted.

Naruto's head emerged from the ground as if he was a part of the sandy alley and his eyes widened when he felt the chakra signatures of his team in the village. He counted seven individuals and one duplicate of Kakashi. Curious about this development, Naruto merged back into the ground and headed towards them. If what he thought had happened, then there might be an opportunity to lose the ninja searching for him.

x-x

The joint teams of Kurenai and Kakashi walked down the streets of Suna. They were masquerading themselves as just being curious of the village and exploring it, when in actuality, Kurenai's team was actively searching for Naruto. They had yet to find anything and Kakashi was wary of summoning one of his dogs again and decided to just let Kiba and Akamaru take care of it. The genin were rather bored of walking down the street and really wanted to duck into one of the restaurants they had passed to keep out of the sun and get something to eat and drink.

The clone of Naruto was still holding up but Kakashi didn't know how much longer he could keep a shadow clone going for. He had never tried to see how long it would take before one of his clones would dispel. At this point, he was just hoping that Naruto hadn't been captured yet. It wasn't necessarily a good sign that Kurenai's students had yet to find him, especially Hinata with her byakugan. She could only use it sparingly though without attracting too much attention.

Crouched in an alley down the street was the real Naruto. The teams were making their way to him and he was going through options on what to do. He could just switch with the clone of himself walking down the street but that wouldn't work for his plans. What he really needed was a scene that would be reported and for the Suna ninja to see him and chase him afterward.

Looking out of the alley at the street and surrounding buildings, Naruto made up his plan. He removed his cloak and sealed it into a scroll in his ninja pouch. He also created two shadow clones, one of which went off to catch the attention of the Suna ninja. Now he just needed to wait for the Suna ninja to get there and wait for exactly the right timing to pull this off.

x-x

Years of training and experience let Kakashi know that something was going to happen. He felt ninja coming towards their group and prepared himself for a confrontation. Kurenai noticed something was wrong as well as him tensing and prepared herself as well. It started with a short burst of chakra and almost instantly Kakashi felt his clone get dispelled and knew that it had been substituted with someone else and then dispelled elsewhere. Looking over, he saw that 'Naruto' was still with the group and there was no smoke from a substitution.

Alerted by sudden movement, he saw turned back and just caught sight of a cloaked figure shoot out of an adjacent alley and grab 'Naruto', pulling him to an alley on the other side of the street. Kakashi reacted late because of the substitution and slight disorientation from his shadow clone dispelling. He also noted several Suna ninja giving chase to the cloak figure.

Not knowing exactly what was going on, he chased his student until the boy was let go by the cloaked figure near the end of the alley and 'Naruto' tumbled to the ground while the cloaked figure kept running away. Most of the Suna ninja didn't stop and continued pursuit. Kakashi reached the downed 'Naruto' and found no wounds and the boy seemed disoriented and Kakashi helped him stand.

One Suna ninja stayed to see what happened which was exactly what Naruto wanted. 'Naruto' serached his person and then handed Kakashi the scroll that he had been carrying. Thoroughly confused, Kakashi was about to ask what was going on but Naruto walked back down the alley to the main street.

Getting near the street Naruto was greeted with the thoroughly confused looks of the rest of the genin and Kurenai. They all looked like they wanted some answer as to what was going on but he really didn't want to give one so he just said with little emotion, "I'm fine. I have no idea who that was or what he wanted with me. Maybe he was after the scroll? Lets get lunch." and with that he walked down the alley back to the street.

x-x

After a quiet meal, the group were stopped by several Suna ninja that wanted details on what had happened and for reports. The alleged attack of a foreign ninja inside the walls of another village was a delicate matter and the only thing that the group was able to learn, besides Naruto who already knew what was going on, was that there was a 'situation' in the village and that it was being 'handled' so there was nothing to worry about.

This only lead to further questions which Naruto didn't answer. The jonin planned to sit down with Naruto later to discuss what was going on but the scroll needed to be delivered first. The two teams headed to the merchants residence to deliver the scroll.

Naruto glanced back to the way they had just come from and knew that he was being followed. The entire group was being watched by Suna ninja but Naruto knew that there was also another person who had just been following him and not the rest of the group of Konoha ninja. Naruto worried over what would become of this as he thought his plan was foolproof but apparently that red haired boy named Gaara had seen through it or at least suspected something.

x-x

Gaara stood on a rooftop with his pointer and middle finger of his right hand placed over his right eye. He was using a spying technique with his sand to produce an eye that he could see through in order to follow the group of Konoha ninja. Specifically the shortest boy of the group. Gaara had lost the boy earlier when he tried to crush him with his sand but had managed to place some of his sand on him and been able to find him again later.

It explained a great deal that a foreign ninja was not afraid of him and he wondered what the boy was up to in the village. He had been present for the show but still couldn't figure out exactly what had happened. From what he pieced together, the boy had 'attacked' himself and then managed to keep the Suna ninja following some type of clone while he hid with his fellow ninja.

This was the first time that Gaara had heard of anyone infiltrating Suna and managing to get away with it. He wasn't sure what he should do about the information. He had already given statements to his sensei concerning the intruder and that his name was 'Ryuuma' but that was a while ago. Gaara thought against telling his sensei or father anything further concerning the boy.

'He won't get away from me next time.' His sand shifted in his gourd at the thought and Gaara gave a rather cruel smile at the thought. His existence hadn't been threatened by the other boy and his mother wasn't calling for blood now but that could easily change later.

x-x

Hotel room in Suna

x-x

"We didn't get lost, you got lost or you tried to get to Suna before us and complete the mission by yourself." reiterated Kakashi as he tried to reason with his student.

"Its not my fault you got lost and didn't get to Suna as fast as I did. I even waited to complete the mission until you guys showed up." stated Naruto while crossing his arms and waiting for an answer. Kurenai frowned at the comeback and Kakashi's eye narrowed.

Kakashi had been trying, unsuccessfully, for at least twenty minutes to get Naruto to tell him what was going on. The two jonin and Naruto were alone in the room while the other genin were in other rooms. So far Naruto hadn't been forthcoming with detailed information and it wasn't insubordination but it certainly wasn't helpful to put the pieces together. Kakashi had his suspicions on how Naruto had managed to pull off his little stunt but he still wondered why it was even necessary and just how he managed to get into Suna.

Kurenai sat on the sidelines of the argument and studied its participants. Kakashi was angry at Naruto for leaving the group, trying to complete the mission on his own, and nearly causing a catastrophe between Suna and Konoha. 'He does have valid points though.' she thought and then she looked to Naruto and wondered just what had happened to him since they had last seen him several days ago.

Everything about Naruto seemed to be completely confusing and lead to more questions. One moment he had a terrible sense of direction and the next he was able to cross the rest of the desert to Suna by himself. He didn't havea map, managed to arrive there ahead of their group, and no one noticed that he had even gone missing until several hours afterward. Not only that, but he managed to break into a hidden village and not get caught for several hours. It was still debatable whether Naruto was trying to complete the mission on his own or whether he had really found a 'short cut' in the desert and waited inside the village for them to show up, which was what he claimed and what Kakashi refuted.

While Kakashi's plan to get into Suna without Naruto and then find him while in the village was rather ingenious, Naruto's plan seemed put it to shame. Not only did he manage to switch himself with the clone unnoticed but the ninja of Suna were probably still looking for a cloaked intruder. It was perhaps an overly complicated plan but it was done right in the open and even in front of witnesses so no one would suspect that Naruto was really the intruder and was already inside the village before their group arrived.

She marveled at how the plan could have been used if it had been a mission to spy on Suna. She still wasn't completely sure how it had been pulled off considering that Naruto had no contact with Kakashi beforehand and she suspected that Kakashi wasn't revealing everything to her that he suspected. In fact neither student or teacher was was very forthcoming.

'Perhaps that's the real reason why this is a joint mission..' Kurenai thought and slowly put together what she thought was the real reason for the Hokage putting them together.

While teamwork was important for any team, trust was also just as important. To her, trust seemed to be the real issue behind the problems in Team Seven. Naruto didn't trust anyone, save perhaps the Hokage. This was very understandable to Kurenai as, given his past, it wasn't a stretch for Naruto to have terrible trust issues with anyone he met. It wasn't just Naruto though. Sasuke and even Sakura didn't trust Naruto and she found it difficult to determine if they trusted Kakashi either. It was also obvious that Kakashi hadn't really been trying to get his genin to trust or even respect him. Naruto still didn't consider Kakashi or herself a sensei and didn't use the honorific and stuck without one or with '-san' at the end of both Kakashi and her name.

Kurenai knew that her team trusted her and she trusted her team to work together, especially after the debacle that was the genin exam and the training and lectures that ensued because of it. Team Seven appeared to be held together by their placement on a team. The fact that they were known as Team Seven was really the only thing keeping them from splitting apart.

Being brought back to the situation at hand she heard the last bit of Naruto's sentence. "...take it up with the Old man." he said and stared at Kakashi.

"Fine but you aren't leaving my sight or side for the remainder of the mission." stated a frustrated Kakashi.

"Can we hold hands?" inquired Naruto and Kurenai smiled slightly at the question while Kakashi gave Naruto a dull stare.

x-x

Hotel room, later that night

x-x

Naruto sat awake in bed and it wasn't because he couldn't fall asleep. He was purposely staying up and keeping guard to make sure that his plan worked and that if it fell through, he would be prepared enough to get both teams out of Suna and try to make it out of Wind Country. The reason for this had to do with the scroll that they had delivered hours earlier.

If things did go badly, then Suna ninja would be coming for them and he wasn't about to get captured. 'Doing the right thing always sucks. I almost wish I never looked in that scroll.' he thought and knew that the lives everyone Konoha ninja there were still in jeopardy and would be until they were back in Fire Country.

He hadn't told Kakashi or Kurenai about it earlier as he wasn't sure what would happen or what they might do which was really nothing. They probably would have made the same decision that he had, if they knew what he knew, but he wasn't willing to let the genin die because of his decision, especially the genin that he tolerated.

Naruto was still dressed and had his swords and other weapons on his bed, right within reach. Feeling out with his chakra, he still felt the same signatures in the area that he had before. Two Suna ninja were near the building and no doubt monitoring them. One other chakra signature was on the roof of an adjacent building and had been there for quite some time. Naruto knew exactly who it was and wondered why Gaara hadn't told anyone about what he knew.

A shadow clone had been following the gourd carrying boy most of the day after Naruto detected that he was being followed by the redhead. From the clones memories, Naruto found it very strange how the boy interacted with the rest of the village. Everyone in Suna seemed to be scared of the boy that controlled the sand. Naruto's clone saw them run away and visibly react when Gaara walked by. It was similar to what happened when he walked through Konoha except no one hated Gaara or looked down on him, they were absolutely terrified of him.

With the amount of blood-lust and killing intent that the redhead put out, as well as the smell of blood coming from his sand, Naruto had a pretty good idea why the villagers were so scared of him. Naruto also had a good idea that Gaara was very much like himself and Sora. More than once, he had felt another chakra that was different from the boy's own and knew what it meant. Perhaps it was his sensing ability getting sharper or maybe it was just how the seal was that allowed Naruto to feel that chakra coming from the boy.

Naruto thought about either sneaking out of the room or creating a clone to go out and meet Gaara but he had a feeling how any conversation or meeting would end between them and he wasn't about to create another incident in the village. Also Kakshi was in his room as the jonin refused to let Naruto out of his site and he couldn't tell what threshold for movement, noise, or chakra usage might wake Kakashi up.

He never wanted to gamble with people's lives. A part of him still thought that he should not have done anything with the scroll, left things as they were, and not gotten involved in Konoha's affairs. However it was already over and what was done was done, he could no longer change it.

Making the most of the situation, he pulled out one of his books and read while he waited for something to happen. Either ninja would be coming after them to detain or they would be getting out the village in the morning with no problems. It all depended on the the scroll.

x-x

Gaara once again took his attention away from the moon and glanced at the hotel room that he knew the Konoha ninja were staying in. He expected that the boy he had tried to kill earlier would come out and they would fight. His mother hadn't actually told him to kill the boy and he wondered why.

Using his third eye technique, he had already spied through the window of the room to see what was going on. Apparently the jonin ninjas of the group were not letting 'Ryuuma' or 'Naruto' out of their sight. Gaara couldn't figure out everything that was going on because two of the group were wearing masks and the other didn't talk very much. It was disappointing that he might not be able to fight with the boy but he remembered that he would be going to Konoha from the coming chunin exams in a few months and a sadistic smile spread over his lips. If the boy, who he knew was a genin, was in the exams then he would have plenty of chances to fight him. If he wasn't in the exam then Gaara would find him before or after the assault on the village and fight him then.

Everything would work out just as he wanted and his existence would be validated by the boy's death. No one managed to get away from him for long. He just hoped the battle would be interesting and worth his time, especially since he would have to wait so long.

x-x

Across the village in the Kazekage tower

x-x

A man named Saito was currently making his way to the Kazekage's office in the tower. It was late but he had an appointment. The scroll had been delivered to him and it was his job to make sure it made it to the Kazekage.

Since the Wind Daimyo started cutting back on village funding and giving away missions to Fire Country, Saito had been removed from active duty as a ninja but that didn't mean that he still didn't work for the village. He was in charge of a network of intelligence for the village using his cover as a merchant and did business in several of the elemental countries. It was a way for the village to keep some of its important divisions but not pay for them and keep them off the books.

The scroll had just been delivered that afternoon by two squads of Konoha ninja and Saito once again thought that it was a terrible idea to send intelligence by way of a C-rank delivery mission. Ninja weren't supposed to look inside of the scrolls at the contents but that didn't make him feel any better about it. It hadn't been his idea but had been the concoction of a contact withing Konoha that was provided by Orochimaru. The contact in Konoha was unknown to him but was apparently a ninja of the village who had been secretly spying on the village for Orochimaru of the sennin for some time.

For once Saito was glad that he was no longer a ninja because he was still unsure about the Kazekage working with a missining-nin such as Orochimaru. What little intelligence he had on the snake sennin only added to his trepidation and he had spoken to the Kazekage about it but his information had been dismissed. The village was in trouble and it seemed the Kazekage was willing to deal with the devil to rectify the problems.

Knocking on the door to the Kazekage's meeting room, Saito was allowed to enter. He walked in and sat down in on the floor facing the shadow behind the curtain/screen. Removing the scroll from his pocket, he placed it on the floow in front of him and said, "This is the intelligence report that was promised from Orochimaru's spy in Konoha."

The screen slid open and a chakra string came out. It moved over the surface of the floor, attached itself to the scroll, and brought it back to the Kazekage.

Saito sat quietly while the Kazekage opened the scroll. The room became deathly silent as the kage examined a few more papers before looking up at him. Saito could feel the killing intent start rolling off the kage now and wondered what had happened or gone wrong. He himself hadn't looked at the contents of the scroll and only verified that it hadn't been opened.

"Is this...some kind of joke? This is the scroll that was sent from Orochimaru's spy?" inquired the Yondaime with barely controlled rage.

"Yes...that is the scroll I received. Is there a problem?" and no sooner had Saito asked the questions than he wished he hadn't.

"Problem..." the Kazekage said and it wasn't really a question, "...this information is obviously false, THAT IS THE PROBLEM!" shouted the kage.

"uh...um...h-how do you know?" asked Saito as he was sure the scroll was genuine.

"Because..." began the Kazekage with venom in his voice, "...the majority of the hidden leaf village isn't devoted to a gigantic water park. Furthermore, the military forces are also not comprised of 'a bunch of ninja' and 8,000 pirates under the command of the Brave Captain Usopp, WHAT UTTER NONSENSE IS THIS!."

"I...I don't understand, Yondaime-sama. That is the scroll that was sent from the spy. I checked to see if it was opened." replied Saito as it had been a while since he had ever seen the Kakzekage so angry. He also had no idea about water park, the pirates, or who the person was that the Kazekage mentioned being in command.

The Kazekage was silent as he continued to examine the information that was sealed into the scroll. His thoughts concerned whether this was Orochimaru's doing, the spy, or Konoha had discovered what he was up to. Looking through the fake maps, falsified documents, and bogus report, he neared the bottom of the pile. He started noticing something that was present on each document. It was a single name as if someone had personally signed each piece of paper after it was written. In rather elegant calligraphy was written, 'Ryuuma' and the name caused the Yondaime to think as he was positive he had heard it before.

'Just today in fact.' he thought as he remembered the reports that had come in from his ninja concerning an intruder in the village. Gaara had reported had the intruder had introduced himself as Ryuuma. Other confirmed reports said that the boy could not have been older than thirteen and he had been livid upon learning that not only had a boy evaded capture by his ninja but actually attacked visiting Konoha ninja.

His eyes widened when he thought about that incident. 'The scroll was brought here by those Konoha ninja. They were attacked...no...one of the genin was attacked by the intruder. No harm was done by the attack.'

It was possible that the intruder had stolen the scroll from the Konoha ninja and replaced it with a fake. However that just lead to more questions as he wondered how the intruder knew about the scroll in the first place? The Konoha ninja seemed rather clueless about why they had been attacked and it seemed that they had no idea what was in the scroll. 'If they had learned what was in the scroll, why would they stay in the village overnight? They would try to get back to Konoha as fast as possible.' The more he thought about it, the surer he became that Konoha most likely didn't know about the spy or information, but someone else did, which was cause for concern.

Getting to the bottom of the pile of false papers, the last sheet was a short note and the Kazekage picked it up to examine it. It said, "Thanks for the scroll. It should come in really handy. ~Ryuuma."

The Yondaime stared at the note and its implications. 'Could the intruder be from another village and came here to steal our intelligence about Konoha?' he thought but couldn't be sure about it. Nothing about the entire situation that day had made any sense. Why would someone come to the village to steal the scroll when they could steal it at any point from the Konoha ninja on the journey from Konoha to Suna? It seemed to be a bunch of seemingly random events that were connected in ways he couldn't figure out. He still wasn't completely sure why two teams of Konoha genin were sent on a C-rank mission. Nothing could be confirmed until the intruder was captured and interrogated.

The Kazekage had never heard of a person named 'Ryuuma' before. Such a young ninja being able to infiltrate a village such as Suna was preposterous. He thought it was more likely that the person was under a henge or perhaps was very short for their age. That still didn't explain how they knew about the information or got into the village. No one in Suna would betray the village and that meant that it was a problem on Orochimaru's end of the plan.

'He should be here any day now for a meeting. I'll ask him then about this 'Ryuuma' person and what is going on with his spy network.' thought the Kazekage in annoyance and he signaled that Saito should leave and then called in a few ninja.

Even if Konoha had nothing to do with the theft of the scroll, there was still an intruder on the loose who had the scroll. The village had been in lock-down since the person was spotted by Baki and his children and he had to not only make sure that the scroll was recovered but also keep 'Ryuuma' away from the Konoha ninja.

Two ninja appeared in front of him and he gave them orders to double the search patrol and the number of ninja that were keeping tabs on the hotel where the Konoha ninja were staying.

x-x

The following morning was full of unanswered questions for the Konoha ninja as well. Each person wanted to know something and the subject was the same, it was Naruto. The questions ranged from how he had managed to get into the village, did he really get lost, and what happened when they met back up on the street? Since Naruto had been separated from the genin during the night, they hadn't been able to ask him any questions.

Naruto had yet to answer any question and had been dodging them all morning. Kakashi and Kurenai were rather annoyed that they weren't able to get Naruto to talk about what had happened to him since they had gotten 'separated' in the desert. Kakashi had tried to order Naruto to talk and told him that they would having a discussion with the Hokage and that if he didn't talk, then more drastic measures would have to be taken.

Heading out of the crevice that was the entrance to Suna, Naruto felt around and knew that 'Gaara' was around. He also thought he spotted a floating eye of sand that was on top of the defensive rock formation around Suna. Naruto was curious about the boy as he had seen how the villagers looked at him. He knew how similar they were and one day they would probably have to fight but Naruto wasn't sure why he knew that.

Dunes came and dunes passed as the two teams walked back through the desert of Wind Country. There was little talking but several genin were giving him glances and Naruto could tell that they wanted to ask questions. He could also feel Sasuke's glare on his back and wondered if he was still mad about the scorpion.

As time went on, Naruto slowly made his way to the back of the group, mostly so he couldn't feel their stares and looks on his back. It was at that point that he felt something in the distances. It was very brief and he could swear it was a large chakra signature and then it vanished completely. He focused on trying to find it again but he couldn't. Looking back at the many dunes they had passed. Naruto tried to locate where it was but found nothing, however, he got the feeling that someone was watching him.

He was broken from his searching when Kakashi told him to hurry up or he might get lost again. Frowning as it was blatantly obvious, and he had pointed it out several times, that the rest of the group were the ones that got lost, Naruto continued on to catch up with the group but did look back every now and then, though never felt anything else.

x-x

"Kukukukukukuku. My stealth skills must be slipping." stated a cloaked figure possessing slit yellow eyes as it came out of the sand to peer over the dune and watch the eight individuals in the distance.

He definitely would never have expected to meet Konoha ninja out in the desert, especially a group that contained someone he was very interested in meeting. 'I also never thought one of the them would detect me...kukukuku...and it wasn't even one of the jonin but a genin no less.' thought the amused figure and once the group were nearly out of his sight, he continued on his way to his business in Suna.

'I'll be seeing some of those again in a couple of months.' he thought as he glided over the dunes. If he had the proper sample of cursed seal serum then things would have gone differently but he was a patient shinobi and would wait until the right time. No one was going to stand in the way of his careful planning.

x-x

The journey back to Konoha seemed to take less time and the desert didn't seem nearly as bad as it once had. There was no attack and they weren't followed, unless that one anomaly was counted but it never resurfaced again on the journey. Naruto was thankful that nothing happened but on some level he wondered what would have happened if it had turned out to be the worse case scenario. Would he have managed to get away? How would the other members of his team and Team Eight have managed when trying to escape an entire village? He was forced to push those questions aside though as it hadn't happened, although he thought that it would have made for a better story if those things had happened.

Entering the village, Naruto noted that nothing had changed. He almost wished it would change as no matter how long he left for, the village always seemed to stay the same. The same buildings and the same people. The genin were dismissed, expect for Naruto and the two jonin lead him to the Hokage tower. Noticing that they were going to follow the main street to the Hokage tower, Naruto ducked down a back alley and made his way through the village on a different route that would be nearly devoid of people.

He could feel the two jonin follow him on his winding path to the Hokage tower. He only got lost twice through the paths and finally emerged out into the courtyard or open area that surrounded the Hokage tower. The two jonin had taken to the roofs and landed next to him as he emerged from the alley.

Entering the building, the group went up the stairs to the Sandaime's office. Usually just the jonin would give a brief statement on the mission to the Hokage while the genin didn't have to go. This situation was rather different though and Naruto knew that he would be forced to explain himself and his actions to the Hokage. He could tell that both jonin wanted answers and had yet to really demand or force them from him. The only person Naruto had to answer to however was the Hokage. He was still a genin so he couldn't be demoted in rank and the Hokage wouldn't put him back in the academy for disobeying a direct order from a superior ninja. There wouldn't be an interrogation or any punishment for what he had done. Naruto did plan to tell the Hokage most of what had happened and give back the scroll that he had replaced.

The trio were let into the Hokage's office and Naruto could swear he saw the Old Man sigh at the sight of him being escorted by the two jonin. 'What did he expect when he put me on this team?' thought Naruto.

Both jonin went through a long narrative of what happened on the mission and Naruto couldn't contain his laughter at what had happened to Kiba. The story ended with Kakashi retelling how Naruto refused to provide any details about what had happened during the period he was separated from the group.

At this point, everyone's gaze shifted to Naruto and to what he had to say for himself. "Can I talk with you alone?" he asked the Hokage.

The jonin looked between the Hokage and Naruto as the Sandaime considered the request. Both jonin were surprised when the Sandaime consented and they both left the room, leaving Naruto alone with the Sandaime. The two looked at each other before Naruto approached the desk and pulled out the scroll that he had technically stolen.

The Sandaime looked at the scroll that Naruto tossed on his desk and recognized it as the scroll he had given Kurenai for the mission. He was about to say something when Naruto spoke, "You should really be more careful about sending out scrolls containing such information about the village."

The Sandaime's face became serious and he opened the scroll. Looking through the papers, he nearly dropped his pipe when he realized exactly what he was looking at. The first few papers were patrol schedules and routes for the village ANBU and standard ninja patrols in and surrounding the village. The papers beneath that dealt with information on standard procedures for emergencies in the village, and several maps were included with labels for important ninja buildings.

While normally the breach of a sealed scroll on a delivery mission would incur serious consequences for the ninja who looked at the scroll as well as for the credibility for the village, this was a difference case. The more papers the Hokage looked through, the greater the feeling of dread became. 'My own ninja were about to deliver this to someone in Suna.' he thought and wondered why the village they had a peace agreement with would want such vital information and who the information originated from as the Sandiame remembered that the scroll came from someone in the village.

The Sandaime looked up at Naruto and many thoughts went through his head. Naruto had just done a great service to the village but he had also breached the agreement between ninja and client, opening a sealed scroll and viewing the contents. However if Naruto hadn't looked then he wouldn't have found out about what was really in the scroll.

"You could have told Kakashi and Kurenai about this. You didn't have to keep it to yourself, Naruto-kun. I'm sure they would have helped you." stated the Sandaime in a sad voice while looking at the frowning boy in front of him.

Putting the those thoughts aside, the Sandaime asked Naruto to tell him exactly what had happened during the times he was away from his team on the mission. The Sandaime was both impressed at what Naruto had done and dismayed at the risks that the boy had taken. The story he received ranged from believable, to improbably, and finally to downright impossible.

The Sandaime spent a good portion of their talk going over how it was foolish and stupid it was to take such risks by himself without telling anyone else. Naruto felt thoroughly guilty and promised he would never do it again after it was over but the Sandaime wasn't finished.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you tamed a giant scorpion and were chased through Suna by someone as famous as Chiyo-san? Where do you come up with these tales?" the Sandaime said with a laugh and shaking his head.

Naruto didn't refute the statement or try and tell the Hokage that it was all true. He himself knew it was true and that was all that mattered.

"Did you really seal a fart into a scroll to prank a teammate?" inquired the Sandaime at the end of the story.

"Yep, I'm only sad I wasn't there to see the results." responded Naruto and the Sandaime chuckled. A prank like that with fuinjutsu was definitely something that he could believe Naruto was capable of.

"I also got some cool cat pajamas. What do you think Jiji." he added and pulled out a black suit from a storage scroll. The suit had cat ears and a particular symbol which the Sandaime instantly recognized and frowned. "Naruto-kun, that isn't a cat suit its the uniform of the Suna Puppetry Corps. They are only given to its members. Do I even want to know how you go one?" inquired the Sandaime as he really didn't want to hear the answer.

Naruto looked at the suit then back at the Hokage, "Probably not. Is it still OK if I use them as pajamas?"

The Sandaime sighed and then replied in a exasperated voice, "Fine, as long as you never let anyone from Suna see them."

"Deal."

Naruto was dismissed soon after that. The two jonin, who had been patiently waiting, came back in the room and the Sandaime was at a loss of what to tell them. He believed that Naruto had actually gotten lost in the desert and hadn't run off to complete the mission on his own and told both jonin that. When asked about the rest of what happened, the Sandaime stalled for a second and then replied that it was classified to which both jonin looked rather surprised but didn't question any further.

Both left the room and the Sandaime sighed as he had thought about telling them about what happened with Naruto but then they would trust the boy even less considering that he didn't confide in them in the first place and risked all of their lives without telling them. 'Why does everything with Naruto-kun have to be so damn difficult! Its always comes down to difficult choices that never seem to have the outcomes I want.' cursed the old man in his thoughts.

On some level he was lucky that Naruto could pull off what he had done during the mission and also that Naruto didn't take his pranking or insubordination too far. There wasn't that much that the Sandaime could do if Naruto started withholding information from him. Naruto was rather untouchable when it came to the laws of the village.

'I really wish Rayleigh and Shakky had never found that law concerning the Senju and Uzumaki clans.' thought the Hokage while shaking his head and could feel a headache developing.

Naruto was considered an ambassador according to the founding laws of the village. He therefore could not be interrogated, imprisoned, or even questioned in his involvement in anything. Naruto could also commit any felony in the village that he wanted, without reprisal, and the worst that the Sandaime could do was to deport Naruto back to Uzushio which was something he would never do considering who Naruto was and what he was contained in his seal. The only thing he could be thankful for was that Naruto didn't ever try to take advantage of that fact.

'I really need to get those laws changed at some point.' he reminded himself while relighting his pipe. That particular task was on a long list of other things that the Sandaime had to do and somehow it kept getting pushed aside for other items.

The founding laws of the village could only be changed by getting permission from the Daimyo and going through a long tedious process with lawyers and the clan heads. The Sandaime really didn't want to sit for any extra meetings besides the ones he regularly had to go to.

Of course, now the main item that was on the top of his mental list was the security of the village and finding out where that information came from inside the village.

x-x

Konoha Archive, In the Hokage Monument

x-x

Kakashi finished walking the long flight of stairs to the records room for the ninja of the village. His rank gave him access to the room so he would not need to get the Sandaime's permission and he entered the archive room. The reason for his visit had to do with his student and what had happened earlier. It didn't sit well with Kakashi that his student had such sway with the Hokage and he couldn't understand why what Naruto had to tell the Hokage was considered classified.

Numerous thoughts had gone through his head and all of them were dismissed. He knew Naruto wasn't a special operative that had some kind of a secret mission to attend to while in Wind Country and completed that mission while under the guise of getting lost. He also knew that Naruto wasn't an intelligence operative and meeting a contact in Suna or something along those lines. But then what was left to choose from. 'Did Naruto actually get lost and then inadvertently discover something he wasn't supposed to? That seems..' and Kakashi stopped this thought as he remembered one fact about the mission. Naruto was carrying the scroll that they were supposed to deliver.

Walking through the archives, he headed to the genin section while he continued on his current thought process. 'Had Naruto opened the mission scroll?' Kakashi pondered what might make the mission classified. Opening a scroll that was to be delivered to a client was a big deal as it was agreed upon that the ninja escorting/delivering the scroll would not look at the contents and would not let anyone else look at it either. The failure of that part of the mission could cause some minor problems for the villages credibility but it wasn't that major. The only thing that could cause the Sandaime to mark the parts of the mission where Naruto was by himself as classified was if Naruto did something or discovered something.

'Did he find something in the scroll that was so important that he wouldn't talk to anyone but the Hokage?' was the next logical thought that Kakashi had. It made sense that if Naruto found something classified or important enough, that he might feel that only the Hokage could know about it.

Thinking back to the mission, Kakashi had also wondered why Naruto had chosen to make contact with the group the way that he did. From what he was able to feel and sense during the first encounter with Naruto in Suna, the boy was running from ninja of that village and made quite a show of getting back with the group while not getting caught.

'He made quite a show...' and the words repeated in his mind as he mulled them over. 'Was there a need to make such a scene. He managed to switch seamlessly with my shadow clone yet he still attacked himself?'

Kakashi came to a section of file cabinets and looked for the right one while he kept thinking. 'Why did he attack himself?' he wondered and thought perhaps that it created the image that the person the Suna ninja were chasing couldn't possibly be Naruto. That made sense but was it necessary?

Finding the right drawer, Kakashi flipped through the files. The village had files on all ninja, past and present, so there were a lot of names in the drawers that he was searching. They still had all the files on the Uchiha clan so the cabinets were full of U's that weren't related to the one Uzumaki he was searching for.

Back to his thoughts, Kakashi came to the conclusion that the scene Naruto made wasn't really necessary and thought about what happened during that brief period. 'My clone was substituted for Naruto and then destroyed...that implies that Naruto wasn't alone...but then he attacked himself and I didn't catch any scent from the 'Naruto' that attacked him and they felt the same...so he can use shadow clones?...the first thing after the attack that Naruto did was hand me the scroll...as if showing that he still had it.' and Kakashi's eyes widened at the thought. At that time they were being watched by at least one Suna ninja and Naruto showed that he was unharmed and nothing was stolen. Naruto had even mentioned that when they talked with the Suna ninja that came by to make their official reports. From those thoughts, the only thing Kakashi could think of was that the scroll they delivered, was not the one that they started with.

'What was in that scroll?' Kakashi wondered and wanted to know the answer. Looking to the end of the Uchiha's he came upon Yamanka and stopped. He looked back and then searched the entire drawer for the file he wanted. It wasn't there. Naruto's file wasn't in the right place. It wasn't that alarming as it was possible that the file had been misplaced in the wrong drawer.

Kakashi went to the desks of the archivists who were in charge of updating all of the current files and information on Konoha ninja. All four were working that day so he just needed to ask where the file might be or perhaps they were updating it right at that moment. Clearing his voice slightly, the archivists looked up at him and he asked, "I was wondering if you could help me find a file on my student, Uzumaki Naruto? It isn't in the correct drawer."

The archivists looked at each other with confusion and then the oldest spoke, "I don't think we have a file for him."

Kakashi stared at him curiously and then looked at the other three. None of them seem to have any idea about Naruto's file and just shook there heads while shrugging.

"Oh, O.K." and with that Kakashi walked away leaving the archivists.

'Why isn't his file here? I've seen it before, the Sandaime tried to give it to me.' and the thought struck him as very odd. After the academy students graduated, their files were sent to the archives to be slowly added to and updated to include missions and other information.

It didn't make sense that Naruto's never made it.

x-x

Hours later

x-x

The Sandaime had just finished his meeting with Yamanaka Inoichi of the intelligence division in order to get to bottom of who wrote and sent the scroll as well as look for any ties to Suna. It was just one of many meetings that afternoon for him. Little had been found concerning the person who actually requested and paid for the mission. It was apparently a merchant who didn't actually exist and whose business was fake. Whoever the real person was, they had covered their tracks well.

The Sandaime got up from his desk and went to his secret safe behind his picture on the wall of his office. With a combination of blood and a few handseals, the safe opened and he pulled out a scroll before shutting the safe and putting the picture back.

Sitting down at his desk, the Sandaime gave a heavy sigh and unsealed the contents of the scroll which were Naruto's files and records. Everything was in there and he went to the mission folder while pulling out a mission report paper from his desk. He absentmindedly filled out the paper work while he thought of what had just taken place concerning Naruto.

He wanted Naruto to bond with those of his age group but that didn't seem to be happening. Not only did Naruto not get along with his teammates, but he was acting out because of his boredom and probably to show his annoyance with being placed on Team Seven.

'Even after two months, it doesn't seem that Naruto is managing to trust any of his teammates or even his sensei.' thought the Sandaime and it was not something that he had counted on. While teamed up with Izumo and Kotetsu, Naruto didn't really have a sensei and he just worked with both of the chunin on missions. The Sandaime didn't know that Naruto would have such a hard time working with a jonin-sensei. Naruto didn't even use the honorific when referring to Kakashi or Kurenai.

He could guess where the refusal was coming from though and he did understand. The only person that Naruto had ever used the 'sensei' honorific with was Rayleigh and he doubted Naruto would use it with anyone else ever again. Rayleigh had taught Naruto for years and it was likely that the bond between them could not be created with someone else. He knew that in Naruto's mind, no one would ever replace Rayleigh and it seemed that Naruto wasn't about to let anyone try to fill that empty spot.

It was also obvious to the Sandaime that Naruto didn't trust anyone on his team or even Kurenai, which was why he refused to tell anyone about the scroll. Working completely by himself and keeping secrets from teammates and jonin-sensei were not traits that a Konoha ninja should have. Teamwork and trust were not something that Naruto was showing with his new team and again the Sandaime could understand. Rayleigh and Shakky had been very open and told Naruto just about everything. Though he still didn't know the full extent of what Naruto knew, he had a feeling that Naruto might be aware of his parents and his mother being a jinchuuriki. Naruto also trusted both of Rayleigh and Shakky completely.

The Sandaime was glad that Naruto did trust him but didn't like the idea of Naruto being so secretive with people he was supposed to trust and work together with. 'Though who am I to talk.' thought the Sandaime as his mind sifted through all of the secrets that he had kept from his ninja and even the village over the years. A hidden village always had secrets that were kept by a few select people but for some reason he felt that Naruto should be different or try to be normal, however he also knew that such a thought was impossible. 'The day Naruto-kun was born, his life became far from normal.'

He finished filling out the mission report for the extra mission that Naruto had completed. Kakashi would fill out a report for the C-ranked mission and he would put a copy of that report in Naruto's file later. Looking at the mission ranking section of the report, the Sandaime stopped as he considered just how he should rank the extra mission that Naruto had solely partaken in. It was obvious that it was at least an A-ranked mission because of what was involved. Naruto had infiltrated Suna, switched the information in a scroll, and managed to make it look like his team and Konoha not only weren't involved in the switch but didn't know about the contents of the scroll.

The Sandaime knew exactly where the scroll was really headed. The merchant was likely just a cover and the scroll would have eventually ended up in the hands of the Kazekage. He wondered what use the Suna kage would have for a scroll with that kind of information and thought he should get a message out to Jiraiya to look into it.

Coming back to the task at hand, he filled in the mission ranking as an S-ranked mission, Naruto's first mission of that ranking. Placing the mission report in the boy's large file, the Sandaime smiled as he browsed the boy's other accomplishments. Not many could boast such a cacophony of miss-ranked missions or achievements.

x-x

Otogakure no Sato

x-x

Walking through his underground village, Orochimaru passed many of the training areas where his Oto-nins were being trained. They had no idea that they would just be used as canon fodder to complete his plans for destroying the leaf village.

Interestingly enough, since the start of his plans and the agreement with Suna, he only a single setback or problem with his plans. Kabuto's intelligence scroll that was sent to Suna was somehow intercepted by an unknown third-party. When the Kazekage mentioned it during their meeting, he actually wondered if it was Akatsuki and if they had been keeping better tabs on him than he originally thought but the name was not one that he had every heard at any point in his life.

"Ryuuma." he spoke out-loud to himself and smiled as he wondered about the person that it belonged to. Evidently they had infiltrated Suna, stolen the scroll from the genin team escorting it to Suna and then made a fool of the Kazekage by switching all of the intelligence information with bogus documents and maps. Not only that but according to what the Yondaime Kazekage had said, the person in question could have been rather young and gifted which also intrigued him as well and he wanted to know more about 'Ryuuma.'

"Kukukuku." he chuckled as he remembered how angry the Kazekage had been concerning the fake scroll and the fact that Kabuto had the audacity to have Konoha ninja deliver their own village information to their enemies. It didn't matter that the Kazekage had blamed him for the problems as the information could always be sent again. Kabuto was in no trouble of being discovered, even if the leaf someone managed to find out about the scroll.

Soon the Kazekage would be dead, so it was nothing to worry about. The foolish kage could rage all he wanted and blame whoever he wanted for the problems. He doubted his plans for Konoha, which he had been working on for so many years now, would ever be derailed by the actions of a single person.

Please Review


	20. Chapter 20

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

**POLL: A new poll is posted and it concerns the preliminary exams of the chunin exams which is the fights to limit the candidates in the final round of the chunin exams. **

AN: I know people might be put off that I didn't start the chunin exams but I had come up with another idea for a mission some time ago and I wanted to put it into the story. I never expected for the Suna mission to turn into two chapters but it came out much longer than I ever planned. Hopefully this is a good chapter as I kept changing my mind and then there was all the trouble with accounts on the website so hopefully everything is all sorted out.

x-x

Chapter XX: Mission in Hot Springs

Somewhere in northern Fire Country, at least Naruto thinks its northern Fire Country

x-x

Moving through the trees of Fire Country, Naruto again frowned at the current mission he had been placed on. Only a few months had passed and the chunin exams were approaching rather fast but not fast enough. Team Seven was still not apparently up to par with what a new genin team should be and so the Hokage had once again paired them up with another genin team on a C-ranked mission. This time it was Team Ten which was not an improvement from Team Eight. Chouji was the only one that Naruto could stand to be near, though doing so made him hungry. Shikamaru was lazy and his listlessness made Naruto feel tired and getting closer to the Nara made him feel like his energy was leaving his body. Ino was very similar to Sakura and that was all that needed to be said. The final member of the team was Sarutobi Asuma and Naruto found the man capable but not really that impressive.

Overall, Naruto was not liking anything about the trip. The mission was just a simple task of hunting down bandits that were terrorizing a village in Hot Springs Country. It didn't require so many people or two teams of genin. He couldn't help but think that the Sandaime was trying to get him to make friends with the heirs and heiresses of the clans again. It wasn't the first time it had happened.

It was a shame really as he had been working on finishing a jutsu. It was supposed to finally finish the game between himself and Sora to invent the best jutsu. Naruto had the idea when he thought about what would happen if he didn't have his swords on him and he needed one. That jutsu was the only one that he had which could be called 'his own' and 'completely original'. He was still working on the other Rokushiki related jutsu, Soru, and while he was getting closer, the results just weren't viable for use yet.

The group continued moving until they were forced to stop for the night. The border with Hot Springs Country wasn't that far off from their position so they would cross it in the morning of the next day and get to the village sometime around noon. At least that was what the jonin thought, Naruto was sure they weren't headed in the right direction and that they could make it to the village faster if they took a shortcut but while Asuma listened to his reasoning, Kakashi was wholeheartedly against taking Naruto's direction advice, as were the other genin of Team Seven.

x-x

Crossing the border the following morning proved to be of little difficulty. The only real boundary that existed between Fire Country and Hot Springs Country was a river that was easily crossed. Naruto noted that they didn't cross on the route they were headed but looked for more shallow water and waded across. He wondered why they didn't just water walk but just went along with it.

The town wasn't that hard to find as they just made it to a nearby road that took them right where they wanted. The terrain changed from the regular flat forests of Fire Country to more of a hilly forested area with more mountains. The forest gave way to several farms as they continued on the path and in the distance the town, Aomori, came into view. Naruto's eyes took everything in around him.

From the mission briefing, the Sandaime explained that Aomori wasn't really known for anything besides being a stopping point for travelers, merchants, and almost anything else traveling through Hot Springs. It wasn't a very large town but it also wasn't that small.

Naruto could see many one and two story buildings along a main road and various houses beyond that. He noted that the town had no wall or defensive feature of any kind and only a front gate. He could also see steam coming from inside the village which he assumed was from a few of the many hot springs found in the country and which lead to its name.

Entering the town was interesting as everyone was looking at them. Naruto was used to it but everyone else was rather on edge about it. The town itself didn't appear as nice as it probably once was but that was only evident when they were walking through it. Asuma lead them to the town hall which was at the center of the town. They passed by numerous people who were watching them.

A figure in a second story window looked down at the group and analyzed the faces of the adult ninja before flipping through a paperback book he was holding. His eyes widened as he came to a specific page and he marked it by folding the corner and continued on until he was again surprised when he came to another page. With both pages marked he left the window at a hurried pace.

x-x

At that same moment in southern Fire Country

x-x

Moving through the trees Anko was followed by her two new chunin. The mission would be rather easy but she was getting bored. Turning around, Anko yelled at the two, "Quite looking at my ass!" and then turned back around.

Izumo and Kotetsu looked at each other and shrugged, 'What's she talking about?' 'We weren't looking at her butt.' the communicated to each other with what could be described as telepathy for others, but just being incredibly good best friends for the two chunin.

Looking back at the direction they were heading, both pairs of eyes wandered to the exact spot that they had just been accused of looking at. If they were being blamed for it anyway, why not look?

Anko quickly turned around again and yelled, "What did I just say!"

Both blushed and looked in different directions which caused them to not look where they were going. Izumo hit a tree while Kotetsu missed landing on the branch and smacked into it stomach first.

"Hahahahahah...its too easy. They're so fun to mess with." she said out loud after stopping on a branch to get the giggles out while letting the two recover enough that they could continue on.

x-x

Back in Aomori

x-x

The meeting with the mayor was short and he just reiterated what was listed in the mission scroll they had while pointing them in the direction of an inn they could stay at. Naruto noted that the man looked rather nervous but some people were around ninja, especially when they knew just how dangerous and powerful those ninja could be.

They had gotten rooms at the inn but didn't stay. Both jonin had decided to use the afternoon for training and they made their way into an area of woods.

Naruto looked around the wooded area and noted that they could still see parts of the village and with his sensor ability he sensed quite a few people in the many buildings but no ninja or none that he could detect. He always did those kinds of checks, because it never hurt to be watchful, or senseful, or whatever the correct term was.

He didn't have to wait long before Asuma spoke, "Your probably wondering what we're doing here? Since we had extra time, we will use it for training. We're going to do tree climbing." he stated and smiled slightly at the confused expressions that he received. The students were confused as to what tree climbing had to do with ninja training.

Naruto was however giving his confused stare for a different reason, 'Is he joking?' he thought as he stared dubiously at the teacher. He had learned tree climbing before he entered the academy. 'Didn't the other already know it too?'

"Tree climbing?" questioned Ino.

"Sounds troublesome." stated Shikamaru and Chouji nodded.

"Is that even training?" questioned Sakura with a dubious expressions.

'That old fart not only put me with genin, but remedial genin! They don't even know tree climbing?' Naruto raged in his head as his concerns were confirmed. Thinking back he remembered how they hadn't crossed the river but instead waded which meant that they couldn't do water walking either.

"Hehe..." Asuma chuckled and continue, "Tree climbing_ is_ ninja training. Why don't you give them a demonstration, Kakashi."

The silver haired ninja put his hands into a brief ram hand-seal and then proceeded to walk up the tree. The other students watched with wide eyes as the sensei of Team Seven walked up about fifteen feet and then walked upside down under a large tree limb. Staying upside down, Kakashi looked back at the genin. "Like you all just witnessed, this isn't normal tree climbing" he said with an eye-smile.

"Now..." and Asuma removed six kunai from his pouch and threw them to the genin, "..all of you can train to do this as well, and you can use these kunai to mark your progress on the tree. You can accomplish what Kakashi just showed by putting chakra into your feet and then climb up the tree. Only the right amount of chakra will let you properly 'stick' to the surface. Too much and you'll be pushed off. Too little and you won't stick. This will help you start to learn how to control your chakra as the bottom of the foot is the hardest area of the body to gather chakra into. You might want to get a running start to gain momentum and help you get up the tree."

Kakashi jumped down and the two watched as the genin looked around at each other as if wondering who should go first. As they started to pick up the kunai, Naruto was at a loss for what he should do. What would the others think if he could do the jutsu perfectly and was ahead of them? It was obvious to him what Sasuke would think. Coming back from Suna on their last C-ranked mission, he could feel how jealous the boy was that he had managed to break into a hidden village and he already knew that both the Emo and Kakashi were already watching him more closely.

He continued to stare at the kunai while the others started to perform the exercise. He was broken from his thoughts however when he heard some shouting. Looking up he could see that Sakura had managed to get up a good distance before stopping on the branch. She and Ino were yelling back and forth about the exercise and Naruto smiled when he saw Kakashi and Asuma move in to stop the fighting and get the genin back to training. 'The perfect distraction.' he thought and made his move.

Right before the genin went back to training, they heard a loud groaning and cracking sound. Turning towards the sound the watched the tree that Naruto was using topple over and crash into the ground. Naruto still had his foot outstretched on the now stump of what used to be the tree and turned to them. This wasn't the first time something similar had happened and few of the genin thought back to the practice post at the academy.

"Oh...look at that, my tree broke. Looks like I can't do the training. I'll see you all later at..." but he was cut off as he walked away when Kakashi grabbed his collar.

"There's plenty of other trees." the copy nin stated but glanced over at the damage that his student had caused.

Naruto stopped trying to get away and mumbled, 'Not if break them too.'

Kakashi sighed, "You probably need this training the most, Naruto. Your chakra control is probably the worst of the bunch." and Kakashi picked the kunai and handed it to him.

Naruto looked at him and sighed while stating in a serious and low voice, "I learned this exercise years ago."

Kakashi stared at his student and didn't know what to say. 'Is he not telling the truth so that he can skip the training?' was his initial thought but he pushed that aside as he once again glanced at the tree stump. 'By the time we turned around, he only had his foot on the tree. There's no evidence of it being cut with his swords and yet the tree toppled over. That means he did it only with his chakra and pushed it out of his foot to damaged the tree enough to knock it over.' he surmised and his mind thought about it. 'He must know the exercise or he wouldn't have been able to push enough chakra out of his feet to collapse the tree.'

He stared at Naruto and continued to think about the situation and what he should do. He could make Naruto do the exercise and show up the rest of the group but that would really only alienate the boy more as the other genin might be jealous. 'Maybe that's part of reason why he doesn't want to show off or give away anything that he knows. He doesn't want to be further alienated from the rest of his age group.' thought Kakashi but he knew that it was also due to the fact that Naruto didn't trust anyone else besides the Hokage.

"What other chakra control exercises do you know?" Kakashi questioned as he tried to get a little more information out of his student. The other genin were far enough away that they couldn't hear the conversation. He was definitely going to have to use this chance to find out as much as he could about his student.

Naruto just shrugged, "All of them."

"Leaf spinning?" "Yes, I know it."

"Water walking?" "Yeah"

"Kunai balancing?" "Yep"

Thinking for a second, Kakashi thought of a really obscure technique he had once heard of "Chakra spinning?" he finally asked and Naruto happily replied, "I'm an expert at that."

With his eye twitching, Kakashi merely nodded. Those answers were not that difficult for him to acknowledge as being true. The boy likely had a huge amount of chakra and to have any control over it, he would have had to start training young in chakra control. He just wondered who had done the training but believed the Hokage had likely foreseen the problem with chakra control that Naruto would have in the future and had someone teach him.

"Fine, you can go back to the inn and I'll tell them that you're working on a different exercise because you have problems with chakra control. You can't leave the inn though, as I don't want you getting lost. Just read one of your books or something until we get back." stated Kakashi and Naruto nodded while he made his way back to the village.

Kakashi cleared his throat and Naruto stopped walking. Turning back he saw Kakashi had pulled out his book but with his other hand he was pointing in a direction. Looking along the direction Kakashi was pointing, Naruto saw the village through the trees where they had just come from and realized the problem.

'Oops.' he thought and scratched the back of his head while going in the right direction.

Kakashi just shook his head at his student. 'Is it an act or is it really that he has no sense of direction?' Kakashi questioned as he watched his student leave. Perhaps he really didn't want to know the answer to that question.

x-x

Getting back to the village, Naruto did exactly what Kakashi had told him to do, he went exploring in the village. He had left a shadow clone in the inn so he could find his way back because he could sense the clones chakra. The looks he got while walking through the village hadn't changed, the people seemed rather nervous around him. So he knew it wasn't just the group of ninja and the jonin, they seemed nervous around all ninja, child or adult. He could also tell that he was being watched but their were enough people around and in the buildings that he couldn't tell from where he was being watched.

'Perhaps they were just all on edge from the bandits and the fact that they might attack. The mayor said that they had just attacked a few days ago and it wasn't likely they would be back for a few days or even a week' Naruto thought. They had also been told that the bandits only attacked during the midpoint of the day which he did think rather strange as he didn't know bandits to be so...regular.

Perhaps Hot Spring bandits were different than other bandits.

The training they were supposed to be doing was to build up the stamina of the genin as they would be patrolling every day. One team would be going out in the morning to scout the surrounding area for the day while the other would stay in the village and work on some training. The following day they would switch. The bandits shouldn't be any trouble considering that two jonin were present. No one was sure if the bandits would be found or if perhaps the threat of ninja being hired would scare them away from the area, which did happen if the bandits were well informed.

Deciding that there really wasn't much to see or do in the village, Naruto detected his clone and found his way back to the inn.

x-x

Later that night

x-x

A celebration was thrown for the ninja that night at one of the restaurants in the village. Asuma and Kakashi initially were initially against going but they were guilt tripped into it. It was apparently to get people adjusted to the fact that ninja would be in the village and also to break tensions between the village and the people who were going to be protecting them while removing the bandit problem.

They were being thanked by the village for helping and couldn't exactly spurn the villages hospitality. Naruto found the situation also very odd as usually you celebrated after the job was done. Not wanting to have any kind of party with the other people of Team Seven and Ten, he managed to duck out early into the celebration while everyone else was distracted by the food, drinks, and attention that they were getting.

Chouji was eating before the food plates had touched the table and Shikamaru was also helping himself to the free food. Asuma and Kakashi were sampling some of liquor and despite fighting over Sasuke, Ino and Sakura were able to sit on either side of their crush and also had something to eat. Though they didn't eat much because of their diets. Sasuke was the only person besides Naruto that wanted to get out of the party, but with two fangirls wrapped around his arms, he was trapped for the foreseeable future.

Naruto walked aimless down the deserted street. He was all for a party but the company made all the difference. He greatly enjoyed a party at Ichiraku's like they had for Ayame's birthday but having a party in a village they just came into with people he really didn't like was not his idea of a party. Looking up at the sky, he admired the stars and when he looked back at his surroundings again, he saw that he was at the Torii style front gate of the village. Looking around he jumped up onto one of the nearby buildings and laid down on the roof to continue looking at the sky.

He thought about training but he hadn't brought any of his training supplies and really wasn't about to subject the surrounding area of the village to his training regime. It would raise questions as well as raze part of the forest. His thoughts wondered to the current mission and his necklace started to glow, though he didn't notice.

'Everything seems...off.' he thought.

The village seemed a little strange. The way they were looked at them, the mayor, and the celebration. It all struck him as 'different' but he really couldn't put his finger on it and nothing really stood out or caused him to be alarmed. Though for some reason his mind refused to drop its current train of thought as he absently looked to the starry night sky.

He glanced down to the gate because the wind chimes that were attached to it were moving with the breeze. It was at that point that he was finally found something that was definitely wrong. The village had just been attacked by bandits, yet there were no guards or watchmen. Anyone was free to enter the front gate of the village. Turning his head, he glanced back the way that he had come and noticed that no one was really outside or walking around. True it was dark out but with a celebration going on, he thought the village should be a bit more lively and at least someone should be watching the gate or patrolling.

They had been informed that the bandits only attacked during the day and always around the same point during the day. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous that story seemed. In his experience, they attacked whenever their was opportunity or when someone would least suspect it.

Were they all just careless, both the villagers and the bandits? Did they feel safe because of the presence of ninja? From what he could feel with his sensor ability, the village had a good number of people and could do _something_ about a bandit problem. It did seem strange that the villagers wouldn't take any action. 'They didn't seem like our presence made them feel safe.'

Those thoughts didn't want to leave his mind and the more he thought about them, the more of a bad feeling he got. He thought perhaps he should go back and tell the others about his thoughts but for some reason he stayed rooted to the spot as minutes passed.

His eyes suddenly darted to the road as his senses picked up several people coming into his sensor range. There were six of them and he could tell one was a ninja.

x-x

Six men entered the main gate for Aomori. The leader of this small group was named Shin and he was a former ninja of the Hidden Hot Springs Village. The village had been destroyed or at least wiped out by one of its own several years before. Since then, he had not been able to go to another village.

It was always rather difficult for ninja of one village to become a ninja of another. It usually took something to bargain with, even if the original village that ninja came from no longer existed. There were far too many other villages that would try to use a chance like that to get a spy into the ranks of another village.

That left him with nothing and no place to turn to. He still remembered the better days when their village was still around. 'Until that scythe wielding maniac started killing off everyone.' Shin thought bitterly and he clenched his fists in anger. He could still remembered that day rather clearly and the memory would likely never leave him. 'No one is really prepared when one of the ninja in your village uses some kind of kinjutsu on himself that won't allow him to be killed, no matter what you throw at him. Then said person goes on a rampage and kills everyone in sight' and he shook his head at the reoccurring thought.

Shin was one of the lucky ones that survived that day. There weren't many ninja from their village left and the rest had moved on and stopped being ninja altogether. However one of their jonin decided to do something and try and find a way to make money while still more or less being a ninja. That was the reason why he was coming back to Aomori again but this time was a little different. They usually only went after missing-nin and not normal ninja that were still affiliated with a village.

'However, if what that message said was true, this could be the best payday we've ever had. Maybe we can finally leave this place behind and go somewhere better.' he hoped as this life was not the one he wanted to live but he really had nothing else. Without the ninja village, all the mission requests had disappeared and were likely given to other villages, namely Konoha. He wasn't really angry about that as it was the way things worked but it did make it easier, knowing what would come next, that he could think his current predicament was somewhat Konoha's fault.

He sighed as he lead his men to the place that had been set up for them. Bandits were not people that he ever wanted to work with but he found himself in their midst far more often in recent months. The village had a building that was sort of a garrison for their bandits in the village. They started keeping a few there to make sure that the village didn't rat them out. 'Seems that plan failed.' he thought as someone in the town had asked for help from Konoha.

They found out not long after it happened and so a few of the townspeople were kidnapped to make sure that everyone did what they wanted. The plan was to let the ninja in and make them run ragged trying to find bandits that weren't around until they left. 'At least that was before supposedly two of the ninja had such high bounties on their heads.' he thought and continued on his way.

Shin and the other five members of the group never noticed that the last member in the line was nabbed by a fast moving streak. By the time someone turned around to see if anything had happened, that same member was still standing there, perfectly fine, and as if nothing had just occurred.

x-x

Under his disguise, Naruto followed the men who were most likely bandits as well as a former ninja, to a run down building near the edge of town. He had noticed this building before when he was exploring but hadn't thought it looked noteworthy or of any interest, so he had never bothered to even go near it.

The leader of the group walked up to the door and gave a specific knock that Naruto memorized for later. A small slide peephole opened up and after a quick check of faces, they were all let into the building. Naruto was immediately assaulted by the smell of alcohol, food, and cigarette smoke.

No sooner had the leader walked in than a person walked up to him and handed him what looked like a bingo book. The man seemed thrilled at his discovered and pointed out two pages that Naruto couldn't see from his position.

"And your sure its both of them?" questioned the leader and the thin man he was talking to nodded several times. The leader nodded taking the book and then asked, "I'm guessing they're still at the restaurant?" and after receiving several nods, he left out through the door he just came in.

The route they were now taking lead to a very familiar restaurant that Naruto had just left about half an hour ago. His eyes widened at seeing the place and he began piecing together what the was going on in this strange town. He still didn't know everything but he sensed the area and found that the two teams were still in the restaurant but their chakra signatures were mostly muted as if they were asleep.

Upon entering the restaurant, Naruto saw all seven ninja were passed out, either onto the table or onto the bench they were sitting on. They appeared to have been drugged and he hoped they were just unconscious and not poisoned. The leader walked up to the face of Kakashi and examined the masked while looking at the one in the bingo. He lifted the mask up and looked at the eye that was hidden and nodded. Then went to Asuma. After examining the bearded man's face he closed the book.

"Its them." he announced and the other men around Naruto looked very pleased at the prospect.

'Looks like he was right. Sharingan no Kakashi and Sarutobi Asuma. I can't believe both of them were duped by this ruse. Then again, they do have a lot of practice at this place.' he thought and looked over the rest of the genin. It wasn't until he spotted the emblem on Sasuke's back that his eyes widened and he stepped over to look at it.

'Looks like an Uchiha, wonder if he can use his eyes?' and he thought it was strange as he had heard that the clan was wiped out. They would have to look into it later. As he was about to have his men take the bodies to a nearby wagon for transport, he stopped and looked around the room.

'There's only five genin. That means..." and he was cut off when he was hit from behind by one of his own men.

x-x

Sasuke sat motionless and slouched forward with his head resting one of his for arms that was on the table. When everyone else had started passing out. He had played possum and waited for a moment to act. The two girls attached to him had also pulled him forward onto the table anway. He had no idea what he was dealing with and only a few people had come by to clean off the dishes and left over food on the table.

So many different thoughts had already gone through his mind. Were his teammates and Team Ten all dead? He did manage to look around and found that of the few members of Konoha ninja that he could see, they were all still breathing. 'It must have been the food or the water, or both.' he thought as he hadn't had anything to eat or drink. Both fangirls wouldn't leave him alone long enough for him to actually eat anything.

Some time had passed since he had started faking uncontentious and he wasn't sure what to do. They had been betrayed by the people they were there to save but he couldn't be sure who exactly it was that had tricked them. 'Were there enemy ninja around? Was it just the civilians or perhaps bandits?' Were some of the most prominent thought in his mind at that point.

He heard several people come in and by the what the man said, he thought for sure he was probably the person who was behind all of this. A scuffle broke out and he managed to move his head so that he could open one eye and see what was happening. By the time he did this, only one of the bandits was standing and he walking over to him.

He tensed slightly and prepared to attack. The moment the man got in range, he raised himself and swung with everything he had. The surprise attack was in vane however as the man easily caught his fist and before Sasuke could reach for a weapon or do anything else, the man erupted in smoke and Naruto was left after the smoke cleared.

"So you were awake after all." he stated and let go of Sasuke's fist.

Sasuke merely stared at the boy and wondered what was going on. 'Wasn't Naruto here with us?' he thought but couldn't remember if the masked boy had stayed or left as he hadn't seen him in a while.

As Naruto went over to examine the other Konoha ninja, Sasuke stared at his back and looked down at his own hand. He had put everything into that punch, had the moment of surprise, and it was easily blocked with little effort by his teammate. His eyes narrowed but he pushed the thoughts aside to deal with the current situation.

Naruto's hands were glowing green and examining Kakashi. "I think their just drugged and their vitals seem fine. Hopefully its just temporary." he stated. "Then again I don't really know much of medical jutsu. You stay here and watch them. I'm going to find some answers." Naruto said and walked out the door.

Sasuke twitched slightly at the fact that his dobe teammate was putting himself in charge of the situation. He had been the rookie of the year and if anything, he should be in charge right now.

Looking around, he noticed that the restaurant was completely empty. Everyone had left and even those in the kitchen in the back had apparently gone. 'He better tell me everything when he gets back.' Sasuke thought with a scowl.

x-x

The special knock came at the door of the garrisoned building and the same person opened the peephole slide to find Shin standing outside. He opened the door and let the man in.

x-x

Hearing noises coming from outside, Sasuke went to the door and pushed it open slightly to look out. He could only see down one end of the street but that appeared to be where all the noise was coming from. He watched as a man came bursting out of a window and landed in the street along with the glass. That man was followed by several more. Another came running out and screaming but was pegged in head with a chair and silenced. This proceeded until the dark street in front of the building was covered in groaning bodies.

An unharmed Naruto proceeded to walk out of the building and the street was bathed in orange light. It was at that moment that Sasuke realized that the building had been lit on fire. Most likely by Naruto.

Sasuke continued to stare with an incredulous look as he watched the happenings down the street, 'That's his idea finding out information! He didn't even ask any questions.' he thought and his eye twitched even more.

Naruto proceeded to walk into the center of downed bodies while a crowd of villagers formed near him and other villagers were coming outside along the entire street. With a loud voice he asked, "So...who wants to talk first?"

x-x

After spending several minutes demonstrating on the bandits what he was going to do if no one in the village talked, someone finally decided to tell him what was going on.

The mayor stepped forward from the surrounding crowd of villagers. The man looked completely guilty and all of the other townspeople did as well. "Someone from the town requested assistance from Konoha to deal with the bandit problem that we have been having." he stated and looked toward the ground.

"So it wasn't you?" Naruto questioned and the Mayor shook his head. "Then why did you drug us?"

"We didn't have a choice. The bandits found out and took hostages. We had to do what they wanted. Originally you were just supposed to go looking for them, not find them, and leave but...that was before they found out who Konoha had sent. Once they found that out, they made us drug you so they could collect on the bounties." finished the Mayor and Naruto could see the regret in the man's face.

"You see, this wasn't the first time that we had done something like this for them." and Naruto's eyes widened as the man continued, "Many years ago Hot Springs had a ninja village but it was lost. With all of the ninja gone, it left our country without anyone to look after it. Even before that time however, we had always had some problems with missing-ninja. Our country borders Water Country and they have been in a bloody civil war for sometime. Water Country borders Frost, Lightning Country, and our own. Deserters from Kiri's ninja force have fled there own country into ours for years.

Our village is small enough that people can come and go mostly unnoticed and since we are relatively close to the border and the location of the hidden village, we tend to receive a large amount of missing-nin. At first we didn't have any problems as we left them alone and they only stayed for a very brief period but after that we started getting Kiri Hunter-nin coming through because we no longer had a ninja village so they had no reason not to follow the missing-nin. We didn't want any trouble or fights as ninja tend to cause great destruction to an area when they fight but a solution came. A few former ninja of our own country came to use and we made an agreement with them.

They would take care of the missing-nin and our town would be left alone. They would identify the missing-nin and we would drug their meals. Some of the money went to us and our village was not damaged in a fight. The hunter-nin also stopped coming around. Everything was fine for a while and we thought we could trust the former ninja but then the amount of missing-nin started to slow. Eventually we didn't get any money from helping them and then, when the flow had started to stop, they started working with local bandits to increase their income. Mostly it was robbery from merchants that traveled the roads in the area. Then they demanded a tax from us for 'protection'.

It just kept getting worse and there was no sign of them leaving. I believe my daughter was the one that requested the mission using my name. I didn't get a chance to find out though as one of the bandits that they leave here to spy on us found out about the mission and they took a few villagers captive. Besides Shin..." and he pointed at one of the men that was unconscious on the ground, "...there are two other former ninja among there group and many bandits. I don't know what we're going to do now." The man confessed and he was nearing the point of breaking down.

Both Naruto and Sasuke had listened to the story. Sasuke was still near the restaurant and making sure no one came into it but he could still here the voice of the mayor talking. Naruto thought about what to do but he needed more information first, "What did you drug them with?" he questioned.

"Its a local herb that will cause temporary paralysis and knock even a ninja out for several hours. They should be fine by morning." responded another man that was one of the chefs working at the restaurant. Naruto nodded and then asked another questions, "If nothing is reported, will anything happen by the time the rest of my teammates regain consciousness?"

"The other two might start to get suspicious when Shin doesn't report back but I don't think they would do anything until morning came and they received no word. They have a small compound in the forest to the Northeast. Its about ten or so miles away and there are camps of bandits in that area but not at the compound where the ninja stay. They might send some bandits to find out what is happening but they hardly come to the village themselves anymore. So they shouldn't come unless someone sends a message or goes to warn them." responded the mayor.

Looking around Naruto noted how many bodies there were and unfortunately he came up one short from what he had seen. 'Ah, crap.' he thought as he tried to find the last bandit but he couldn't detect the person because unless they were hiding in the group of villagers, they were already out of his range.

x-x

"I'm going!" stated Sasuke as he again refused to stay.

"Then who's going to stay with the rest of the group and make sure nothing happens?" fired back Naruto.

"I'm in charge here, and I'll go after the bandit while you stay here." responded Sasuke.

"Oh really, and just how are you going to find that bandit? I suppose you have incredible tracking skills?" refuted Naruto and Sasuke just frowned. "You get lost while were in Konoha." was Sasuke's response and Naruto just glared while stating, "I don't get lost! And I happen to have great tracking skills. I can find that bandit easily."

"Oh really?" questioned Sasuke with disbelief.

"Yes, that particular bandit is traveling by horse because one of them was stolen just a little while ago and I can follow the horse and the person." stated Naruto.

"I doesn't matter. I'm going." said Sasuke stubbornly refusing to have his way.

Naruto just glared and contemplated knocking the Uchiha out or perhaps force-feeding him some of the drugged food/drink. Unfortunately they didn't have time to argue. If the bandit made it to the compound then they would have to deal with two former ninja and whatever bandits they could round up.

"Fine you stubborn jackass, but if you can't keep up, I'm leaving you behind." said Naruto and Sasuke snorted at the statement.

Naruto walked out of the building with Sasuke behind him and he made a single hand-seal that created a shadow clones inside the restaurant they had just left. The shadow clone shut the door and started putting a few seals up to make sure that no one else would be able to get into the building until the original came back.

x-x

Listening to the conversation, Kakashi tried to figure out what exactly was going on. He had just heard two of his genin arguing about leaving to stop someone. Sasuke didn't want to stay and protect the others, which he assumed were the other genin, Asuma, and himself.

His body was completely unresponsive and he could guess that he had been drugged during the little party. He mentally cursed as he knew something was up but didn't expect to be poisoned. Before consuming the food and drink, he did his best to check for any poison but didn't find any. 'It must have been mixed in the food so well that I could detect it.

Normally poisons were not tasteless or odorless and it was easy to determine if food had been laced with them. This time however he had been thoroughly tricked and apparently only Naruto and Sasuke had escaped whatever was going on. He had wanted to say something and ask his genin what was happening but he couldn't move his mouth. The most he could do was groan which wouldn't help because he could never get a message across to them. The only movement his body could make besides breathing was that he could slightly open his eyelids.

From the conversation he heard, he wasn't sure exactly which person was right or wrong. Naruto seemed to think he could chase someone down better than Sasuke and that one of them should stay there to look after everyone else. In his opinion, this was likely the more sensible plan. While Naruto might be 'directionally challenged', he knew the boy could track someone and that Sasuke did not possess much in the way of tracking skills.

Sasuke was acting far more recklessly and wanted to go along simple because he thought he should be involved with whatever was happening. He wanted to roll his eyes at Sasuke's attitude because the boy seemed more concerned with being in charge and being superior to Naruto than the mission or his teammates. Sasuke just couldn't seem to accept that Naruto might be better at something than him or that Naruto might have better ideas or plans.

It was also his own fault as he had never specifically stated who was to be in charge if he was not there or incapacitated. He honestly thought the situation would never come up.

He wasn't that concerned about Naruto as he knew that the boy could always take care of himself, no matter what situation came up. Naruto may not be the easiest person to get along with but the boy was dependable and clever. Sasuke on the other hand was proving to much more hotheaded and reckless than he would have wanted his students to be.

It might only be a few hours or more until he could move and hopefully his two students could either accomplish the chase mission or hold out until he was up again. He was very thankful that he had just had something to drink while reading hi s book and not had some of the food. From what he could hear, Asuma would likely be out for longer than he would.

When he was able to move his arms enough to make hand-seals, he would summon one of his ninken to go after both shinobi until he was able to move well enough.

x-x

Jumping through the trees in the dark, both boys followed the fleeing bandit. The man was on horseback and already had a good head start on them because of talking to the villagers as well as bickering amongst themselves. If they managed to catch up to the bandit, then they could wait until morning before going after the remaining bandits and the two former Hot Springs ninja.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto once again as he wondered if they were actually following the bandit or if the dobe had gotten them lost. He really wondered if someone with completely no sense of direction would be able to track someone, especially in the dark. Once again he marked a tree as they passed to make sure that they could get back from wherever they were going.

As of yet, there had been no real sign of the horse riding bandit. In the dark, no hoof prints could be seen and the ground was rather hard so it was possible that they couldn't be seen even if there was light. If they didn't find anything in another half an hour of travel, he would suggest that they go back. He wasn't really sure how far they had traveled and only had a vague sense of the direction they were traveling in.

His legs were starting to burn at the pace they were traveling and because they had been steadily going up hill nearly the entire time they were traveling. He couldn't believe that he was slowing down while Naruto wasn't. The pace Naruto was setting was far faster than when both groups first traveled through Fire Country to get to Hot Springs and he wasn't sure how long he could keep it up. At this rate he might actually be left behind which was not something he would except. If he was getting tired than Naruto must be getting getting tired as well, but the short masked boy showed no signs of fatigue or seemed to be slowing down.

They continued on until Naruto could finally sense the bandit that he had been tracking. "He's up ahead." he said to Sasuke and the Uchiha looked confused as to how Naruto knew that.

As they closed the distance, Naruto began to feel something else as well. It started as something just outside his range and then he could feel the chakra signatures of several more people ahead of them and the bandit on his horse was almost there. There were around fifteen or so signatures and two of them were ninja.

'Damn, he made it there before we could get him.' Naruto thought and he slowed down to a stop on one of the branches. Sasuke stopped as well and was about to ask why they had stopped when Naruto spoke, "We didn't make it in time. He made it to the compound before we could stop him."

Sasuke looked in the direction they were headed because he didn't see any compound. 'Just how far away is it and how can he know what's going on?' he thought. Looking up to the sky he did see some smoke that could be from a fire up ahead but it was difficult to tell at night.

Naruto stopped to think briefly on what to do. The bandit was already at the other signatures so there was nothing that they could do about that but it was possible that they could delay the ninja or even stop the other bandits from being told of what was going on. The mayor said that there were bandit camps in the surrounding areas so if the two ninja sent someone to tell them and they were to intercept that messenger, then they could stop any bandit reinforcements from heading to Aomori.

He looked at Sasuke who was still standing on the branch and thinking as well. Hoping that the Uchiha wasn't thinking about storming the place, Naruto outlined the plan, "We can't stop the ninja from finding out but we can stop anymore bandits from coming or being notified. They don't seem to have any type of way to get messages besides a rider so if we intercept whoever they send to notify the bandits nearby then we won't have to worry about them."

Sasuke looked at him in the darkness and mulled over the plan. He frowned at it sounded very well thought out for something that required such a short amount of time to think up. "Fine, lets go." he said and both boys continued into the darkness.

x-x

Both boys sat on the tallest branches of the tree they were in and looked out at the compound. It was up a little higher than the ground they were on now and the trees disappeared at a certain point leaving only a building in an open area. It had no fence or anything like that and was just a building out in the middle of hills and trees. They could see lights that were on inside the building and the smoke that Sasuke saw earlier was from the chimney.

The activity in the compound started with the doors of the building opening and several people coming out. Sasuke couldn't make much out in the darkness as the moon light didn't help very much but Naruto could tell exactly who the ninja were. Someone had gotten a cover-less wagon and several people were moved onto the wagon where they were huddled together.

Naruto could tell that they must be the hostages that were taken. 'They are either trying to flee with the hostages or going back to the village to probably use the hostages against us or as bargaining chips.' he thought and looked to what the other people were doing. Several of them had gotten on horses and they were most likely the bandits that were acting as messengers. A couple of bandits were manning the wagon and it seemed like the ninja of the group would take the trees or at least follow the wagon which was very good for them.

If the former Hot Springs ninja followed the wagon, they would have to slow down and after both of them dealt with the bandits that were there, they could catch up with the wagon.

He was brought out of his thoughts when the group started getting ready to leave in separate direction. "The people in the wagon are hostages and the ones on the wagon and on the horses are all bandits. If we're lucky, the two ninja will follow the slower wagon and we won't have any trouble following them. The bandits will be easy to deal with so one of us should take them first, then we can either wait for the wagon to get to the village or surprise the ninja on the way." stated Naruto while he kept his eyes on the group in front of him that were just about to leave.

"I'll go with the wagon, you can go after the bandits." stated Sasuke with a smile and Naruto shrugged then made a hand-seal and several more of him appeared, only to run off in different direction. "Alright, I'll get the bandits, now lets follow the wagon." said Naruto and jumped to another tree to get on a better path for following with the wagon.

Sasuke just looked in the directions that all of the other Naruto's went and wondered what they had been. 'They couldn't be normal clones, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to do anything against the bandits, so what were they?' he questioned and jumped off in the same direction as Naruto. Nothing about the boy ahead of him made any sense at all.

x-x

The two genin followed the group for some time. The wagon had eventually come out on the main road and they were following the road straight to the village. Both Konoha ninja stayed alongside the wagon traveling on a parallel path but were far enough away that they wouldn't be seen. Naruto knew that his shadow clones had beaten up the bandits and that no reinforcements were going to come. He was however unsure about what to do, whether they should attack now or wait until they reached the village. They had no idea how strong the two ninja were or what rank they once had in the Hidden Hot Springs village. The ninja both had average sized chakra reserves but that really told him nothing about their skill level.

Looking over to Sasuke, he could tell that the Uchiha was getting more tired the farther they went and was itching for a fight. 'By the time we make it to the village, he might be too tired to fight.' he thought and sighed at the possibilities. This was one of the things that he hated about being a leader, there were always decisions but it was the hard ones that were the toughest to live with. They had a chance to save the villagers in the wagon and the best time to attack was when they had the element of surprise.

Looking in a different direction, Naruto could feel another chakra signature. It was much smaller and seemed to be heading their way. The signature itself felt rather different than a person though, however it was also different than an animal. "Something's coming." Naruto said while putting his hand onto his sword hilt and Sasuke looked in the direction he indicated.

They didn't have to wait long before out of the dark a small brown dog came leaping out of the trees not to far away from them and veered direction to catch up. Sasuke wasn't very startled by the dog but Naruto found it rather surprising as he had never seen ninken besides Akamaru before. "The names Pakkun. Kakashi sent me to find you two. What's going on?" the little pug dog asked.

Sasuke was about to answer when Naruto cut him off, "We're tailing two ninja and two bandits that have a wagon full of hostages and are heading back to Aomori." he informed the small pug and ignored Sasuke's glare.

"Hmm...I don't think Kakashi will be able to help you. Even the by time we reach the village at this pace, I don't think he'll be able to do much by then. The others are still unconscious and can't help either." stated the brown pug with no change in facial expression besides its apparently normal depressed look.

"I can get a good idea of how dangerous the two ninja are if I can get their chakra sent." stated Pakkun and he changed direction slightly to go to an area where the ninja had already passed to pick up their chakra sent which was the lingering chakra mixed with scent that was left behind when any moved from one place to another. The lingering chakra was extremely small for most people but his nose could still pick it up and give him a good idea of how strong the person who belongs to it is. Its was more than just a measure of chakra reserves and was a good indicator of how dangerous anyone was. Other ninken also had this ability but his was one of the best.

Minutes later the pug returned and informed them of the his findings. "The ninja that isn't carrying a weapon is the stronger of the two and is near jonin level. The other one is around chunin level."

"So what should we do?" Naruto questioned and he turned to the pug dog. It was rather obvious to him that Kakashi had put the dog in charge and he wasn't about to have another 'quality' conversation with the man about not following orders and how important teamwork was.

Pakkun thought over the situation and noted the strengths of the people around him and the ninja they were following alongside. He could tell the Uchiha was slightly tired and anxious for something to happen. The boy's scent made him think that he was nearly at chunin ability and may or may not be able to handle the ninja with the weapon. The second boy was a different story. Not only did the masked boy possess a huge amount of chakra, but he thought the boy would likely be able to face on the stronger ninja by himself. Whether or not the boy could win the battle, he was not able to tell.

Kakashi had sent him to find the two genin and figure out what was really happening. He hadn't anticipated a situation like this and if he had, he would have asked that some of the other dogs be summoned as well. He had no talent in fighting and the most he could do was bite someone.

The best that could be done was to wait until they got closer to the village. Perhaps by then Kakashi would be able to move and provide a little back up. Even if the jonin wasn't able to move very much, he still had his chakra and array of jutsu to use, so the fight would be a little more even.

"We'll wait until we get closer to the village, unless something else happens to change the situation." stated Pakkun with his voice having a slight bit of authority in it.

x-x

"Are you sure about this, its kinda humiliating." stated the shadow clone as he adjusted Kakashi on his back. The copy nin was riding piggyback on the clone and was a little big for Naruto, especially with his long legs.

"Its around one in the morning, who is around that can see it? You know, you talk an awful lot for a shadow clone." stated Kakashi as he had never had never encountered a shadow clone that was that vocal and aware. It was like he was talking to the real Naruto, which shouldn't have been the case. While shadow clones were able to think, speak, and use jutsu, they didn't interact this much with their surroundings and with other people.

"What are you trying to say, that I'm not real? That's just unnecessarily mean. Maybe you should walk yourself to the battle." stated the shadow clone as it was about to start running towards its creator when Kakashi pointed out, "Your facing the wrong direction. We need to go the other way."

As the clone turned around and headed in the right direction, a feeling of apprehension started to grip Kakashi. It may not have been the best idea to leave but after the clone received the memories from other clones about two former ninja and hostages, Kakashi needed to get to his students. Hopefully Pakkun had already found them and they weren't in too much trouble.

x-x

"They've stopped moving." Naruto stated with surprise as he slowed down to a stop on a branch and tried to figure out what was going on. A moment later, he dashed in the direction of the wagon.

It was a brief moment before Sasuke and Pakkun chased after him

x-x

Jumping off the wagon and making a run for it was definitely not the smartest thing that she had ever done in the nineteen years she had been alive. The two ninja had been distracted and she had taken the opportunity to try and get away because she was the most important hostage and the bandits and ninja had the most bargaining power with her as their prisoner. Her father would agree to any demands to get her back. It was also dark enough in the woods that they might have trouble finding her.

In some part of her mind, Hitomi knew that everything she had done had been a horrible mistake but she just wanted to help her village. Being the daughter of the mayor of Aomori, she had forged her fathers signature in the mission request to Konoha. She thought that she could end the problems with the former Hot Springs ninja and free her village.

Slowly over the years, she had watched Aomori dying. The people didn't like what they were involved in and when the missing-nin got fewer and fewer, then they had to pay a 'protection' tax. After that, many merchants stopped coming near the village because of fear of being robbed by the bandits that roamed the area. Their village survived mainly on the many travelers that used to stop on their way to another village.

It was her fault that the ninja she had hired were now likely going to be killed for the bounties their heads and from what she had overheard earlier, there were several genin that were still children among that group. She didn't know much about requesting missions and the rank she had give the request must not have been high enough to bring older and more experienced ninja. Instead she had gotten experienced ninja as well as inexperienced.

'The genin would likely be killed as well.' she thought sadly as she ran through the trees in a random direction from her captors. The only good news she had was that at least one of the ninja wasn't incapacitated but what could one child do against these men and all of the bandits and two ninja?

She hadn't managed to get very far before she had to stop as the leader of the group appeared in front her. He was about twenty feet and she stopped running.

Hitomi cursed as she stared at Ryoichi, who was the leader of both the former Hot Springs ninja and the bandits. He was once a jonin in the hidden village of her country and she hated him more than anyone else she had ever met.

"Did you honestly think you could get away from me? A civilian could never outrun a ninja, no matter how much of a head start they had." sneered Ryoichi as he stepped closer and Hitomi backed away until her back pushed against a tree.

"You aren't a ninja anymore, and I won't let you keep using Aomori." Hitomi responded with as much determination as she could.

"I had a feeling you were the one that sent for those Konoha ninja. Your father, and the rest of that village, were always too cowardly to do anything against us. Seeing as you'll only hinder my plans as much as possible, I see no reason to letting you live." and with that he pulled a kunai from his back pouch and threw it.

There was nothing she could do, even if her hands weren't tied up, so she closed her eyes when the kunai was thrown. Instead, she heard a clang of metal and the sound of someone landing in front of her. Opening her eyes she saw the back of a young boy that was now standing between her and Ryoichi. It was rather obvious that he must be the ninja that was spoken of earlier in the night.

In the dark, she couldn't tell that much about him. The swirling symbol on his back was very noticeable as were the ninja pouches but that was about it. While she was thankful, the boy ninja didn't look like that much to her and she didn't think he should giving up his life by fighting Ryoichi.

"And he's so short." she accidentally said out loud and then realized what she had said to her savior.

"HEIGHT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SKILL!" remarked Naruto with some outrage as he practically shouted to the woman behind him. 'I save her life and the only thing she can think about is how short I am. What the hell!' he thought irritably.

Ryoichi merely laughed at the scene and then got serious again. Even if the boy had beaten Shin, that wasn't really saying much as the man had been a genin when their village was destroyed and his skills hadn't improved much. Shin's skills could not be compared to his own.

Jumping back, Ryoichi starting going through hand-seals and so did Naruto. Naruto knew what was coming and spit mud out of his mouth in a line in front of where he was standing. The mud began growing into a huge defensive wall that protected both Naruto and Hitomi from the fire jutsu Ryoichi launched a moment later.

As the scene unfolded, Hitomi got back to her senses as she was rather amazed that the boy in front of her was much more than he appeared. She could hear fighting in the distance and thought perhaps it was more than one ninja that had escaped. Looking around, she found one of the kunai thrown earlier and went to it to cut the ropes binding her hands. If she couldn't get away, then she could go back and get to the wagon while everyone else was occupied. Then she could get the villagers that were taken hostage back to Aomori, ensuring that they couldn't be used as bargaining chips. The best she could do at that moment was make sure that they were safe no matter the outcome of the fight.

Once the rope was cut and her hands free, she ran back the way she came to the wagon. She only hoped that the boy that had saved her would be safe.

x-x

The man's fire jutsu was just about to end so Naruto proceeded to use an original earth jutsu that he had come up with which was an addition to the mud wall technique. Going through several seals, he stamped the ground and watched the foundation of his mud wall start breaking apart. It broke the way he wanted it to and with a great push with both his hands, the wall began to fall over onto the ninja that was in front of it.

As the wall fell, Naruto started walking up the side of it as it fell so he could attack his opponent right as they fled from the toppling mud wall.

x-x

Sasuke dodged the sickle end of the kurarigama and moved back a little from its range. The weapon was difficult to see at night and he was having difficulty dodging it. He started the fight by launching one of his fire jutsu at the ninja but the fireballs were easily evaded by his opponent. Now he was dealing with a ranged weapon and person that was very proficient with it. He had no weapons on him besides his kunai and shuriken so he didn't have much to fight back with. His fire jutsu didn't seem fast enough to catch his opponent and the weapon left him at a disadvantage because he couldn't get in close to use taijutsu.

Trying to move the fight off of the main road and into the forest wasn't working either as the ninja knew what he was doing, which was to create obstacles for the chain to either get caught on or limit its owners attacking abilities.

Some kind of clone of Naruto had already taken out the two bandits and was taking the wagon down the road and away from the fighting, so he didn't have to worry about the hostages but that wasn't helping any.

'I need to disable the chain.' was his only thought as the weighted end of the weapon came at him again.

x-x

Jumping out of the way of the falling mud wall wasn't that hard but he was forced to duck under a sword swing and then received a kick to his shoulder that sent him reeling. 'Damn it that little bastard hits hard.' he thought as he staggered to get up from the kick. He had tried to block it but still was knocked back a good distance.

Looking through the darkness, he spotted the retreating girl and smiled while tossing a grouping of shuriken at her. It was possible that he might be overwhelmed by the little brat but he could fight smart.

Naruto responded by swinging his sword in a arc, sending a burst of wind chakra that knocked the shuriken off their course. 'Either he really wants her dead or he's trying to put me at a disadvantage with having to protect someone and fight at the same time.' thought Naruto and both ninja jumped into the trees in a burst of speed.

His opponent was very wary of his swords and would not get close to him but kept his distance and tried to throw projectiles past him at the woman. The man was also good at evading attacks but Naruto wasn't letting up enough that the man could get off anymore fire jutsu. Swinging his sword again, he launched a arc of wind chakra at the man that hit but Naruto knew it was a substitution and cursed when he detected that his opponent had substituted with a log that was behind him and was now closer to the fleeing woman than he was.

x-x

Sasuke jumped but the chain wrapped around one of his legs and he was ranked into the ground. His disorientation from the attack was all his opponent needed to close the distance between them while swinging the sickle down at Sasuke in order to finish him off.

Sasuke rolled to one side as the sickle imbedded in the ground and he kicked the man in the stomach. Before he could get the chain off of his leg, the man had moved back because of the kick but yanked on the chain to keep Sasuke off balance and from getting himself untangled.

With no way to stand back up, Sasuke was stuck on the ground. Moving through a few hand-seals, Sasuke released a large fireball but the chain was yanked on again and force of the pull jarred Sasuke enough that the fireball went high and was not on the ground like he had wanted.

His opponent ducked and rolled under the flames while Sasuke used the diversion to get the weighted end of the chain unwrapped from his leg.

The ninja pulled back on the chain to retrieve the weight only to find an sizzling explosive note on the end. Instead of dropping the weapon though, he threw the weighted end at Sasuke as fast as he could. The ball never reached him before the explosion and Sasuke had jumped away to dodge the weight and the blast.

The chain was again retrieved, but this time Sasuke couldn't do anything to it and the fight resumed.

x-x

Both ninja raced to the civilian, one trying to protect her and the other looking to use her as leverage to escape. Naruto launched several shuriken at the ninja in front of him and did managed to slow the man down.

Turning in midair, Ryoichi used a kunai to deflect the shuriken but was surprised when a clone of the boy came out of nowhere and kicked him in the side. He managed to stab the clone in the leg with his kunai before being thrown back by the kick and smacking into a tree truck.

Intent on ending the fight, Naruto moved as fast as he could and swung to decapitate his opponent. He didn't bother to put any wind chakra or even regular chakra in the blade as he was more focused on stopping the former ninja before he got to the civilian. Ryoichi shifted his weight on the branch he had been knocked onto and fell of the branch while the blade barely missed him.

He recovered on the branch farther down and jumped to the woman with Naruto in pursuit. Both were so intent on the fight that neither noticed that while Naruto's swing had not touched the tree, the thick trunk had still been cleanly cut. The tree above the cut had slid off the rest of the trunk, toppling over into the other trees.

Hitomi screamed as she was grabbed from behind while trying to make it back to the wagon and Naruto cursed as he hadn't gotten there in time. He had originally charged in without any plan and had expected his opponent to fight him and not go after the villager. If he hadn't been so sure he could defeat the opponent, he would have switched a clone with the woman and surprised the man.

With a kunai to the girls throat the ninja spoke to Naruto, "Take off your swords, pouches, holster, and throw them away from you." he commanded and Naruto begrudgingly did what he was told.

Analyzing the situation, Naruto knew he didn't have many options. With the kunai and grip that the man had on the girl, he didn't have the option of substituting himself or his clone with her.

"If you try to follow us, I'll kill her." stated Ryoichi and the man started to move away while keeping his eyes on him.

Naruto did have an option though. One of the techniques certainly wasn't finished and the last time he tried it he was left incapacitated for over a day. The other technique was specifically designed for this situation, which was when he didn't have his swords or any other weapon. Combining both would be very difficult but it could be done. At this point it was all he had left.

Before the man got too far away, wind chakra started to gather on Naruto's hand and he simply stated, "Shinku Soru. (vaccuum shave)" while disappeared from view.

x-x

Panting, Sasuke once again dodged the weight. He could tell his opponent was getting more tired as well. Several plans had already failed and he was running out of ideas. He had tried to grab one end of the chained weapon with ninja wire in order to try and disable or keep his opponent from being able to swing it around so freely but that had not worked. The ninja had also been able to block any of the projectiles that Sasuke had sent at him. Of the few fire jutsu he had, none of them were of any help either and if he used another one, he wouldn't be able to keep fighting.

It was clear that the winner of the fight would soon be decided by who could keep fighting the longest. Mistakes had been made by both ninja but neither had really been able to capitalize on it. Sasuke went to his pouch to find he only had a few kunai and some explosive notes left. His shuriken holster was nearly empty as well.

Putting an explosive note on one of his kunai's he prepared for his attack. His opponent appeared to be conserving energy and just waited while idly twirling the weighted end of the chain at his side in preparation for the attack.

The explosive tagged kunai was thrown and man dodged as prediction to avoid the blast. That was right when Sasuke threw the last of his shuriken. The man blocked them with twirling chain and weight. The note detonated but was not close enough to injure the ninja.

Refocusing on Sasuke, the former ninja threw the weighted end at the charging genin but it went through a clone that Sasuke had created during the short distraction. Looking around, the man could see Sasuke coming at him from a different angle. He didn't have time to pull the weight back but he did have enough extra length of chain for something else.

When Sasuke got close enough, he threw the sickle straight at him. Sasuke dodged but was confused as only one part of the sickle was sharpened and it hadn't been the part thrown at him. Regardless of this, he continued his charge as he was nearly at the man.

Yanking on the chain, the ninja pull the sickle back with the bladed edge of the weapon aiming for the back of Sasuke's exposed neck.

Sasuke noticed with enhanced clarity that his opponent was getting ready to duck and he wondered why but thought perhaps the man was going to duck under his punch. A clanging sound behind Sasuke went mostly unnoticed as he focused on his opponent but he did see that the man was completely distracted by something. Connecting with the punch, he followed through a few more more hits and the ninja fell back onto the ground. Looking around he noticed that standing not too far away was Naruto and he was carrying Kakashi piggyback style. 'Was that what the guy was distracted by.' he wondered as he stared at the strange sight.

"Never fear, the scarecrow is here." announced the clone of Naruto and it point to Kakashi on his back. Both Kakashi and Sasuke sweat-dropped.

"This is embarrassing enough as it is, you don't need to make it any worse, Naruto." stated Kakashi and he noticed that Sasuke had unlocked his sharingan. The dojutsu faded though as Sasuke was getting too tired to use it anymore.

"Don't look so triumphant. If Kakashi hadn't thrown that kunai, that sickle would have taken your head off." stated the Naruto clone and Sasuke looked around to find a kunai sitting near the sickle end of the chain.

He scowled at the kunai as it was proof that what Naruto had said was true. Looking back, he was about to say something but realized that the Naruto he was talking to was not the one that he had been traveling with, which meant that the other one was still fighting.

x-x

Naruto reappeared from the huge burst of speed about a foot in front of Ryoichi. The world seemed to slow down in that moment from being taken out of such high speed movement. Naruto could feel his body straining from speeding up and then slowing down in such a brief period.

One of his hands was covered with wind chakra from past his finger tips to halfway down his forearm from the jutsu that he was still forming. The arm and hand were going through a chopping motion that would go right through the ninja's forearm that was holding the kunai and even if the jutsu wasn't completely formed, the attack would take the arm right off at the elbow.

Naruto's arm continued its swing and by the time Ryoichi realized what was happening, it was too late, Naruto's hand cut right through his arm. The arm started falling to the ground and Ryoichi was frozen in shock and surprise. Naruto used that time to pull the woman away from the ninja and then stabbed him in the chest with his wind chakra covered arm. Once that brief moment was over, everything came back to real time. Naruto heard the arm fall to the ground, the woman crash in the ground, and Ryoichi gasp all in a moment.

Ryoichi looked down at the arm that was protruding from his body and then his eyes started closing as his body collapsed to the ground. Naruto stood for a brief moment as the technique covering his hand and some of his arm produced the whining sound that he had named it for. The name of the technique was called Ketatamashii and described how the wind was moving so fast around his hand that it created a piercing continuous sound. It was like the sound of the wind whistling with a higher pitch.

The technique shaped wind chakra around his arm and chakra was constantly spinning in a corkscrew or drill like pattern down his arm, coming to a sharp point a few inches past his finger tips. The wind chakra was sharp but overlapping and rubbing of multiple patterns only sharpened it even further and it was the sharpest wind jutsu that he had. His fingers and palm were flat and aligned with the forearm and the technique had the effect of turning his hand and most of his arm into an incredible sharp weapon that had not one defined blade but the entire technique was a cutting surface.

His eyes looked down at the blood on him and the body before him. It was unfortunate that he had killed the man and he regretting it but he couldn't let the man live because of the effects of his first jutsu. He would be incapacitated immediately after because of the speed jutsu he used and that would have left an opening for the ninja to take advantage of. He stopped his jutsu and then the pain in his legs made itself known, causing him to fall down onto the ground.

The first jutsu he used was based off of his books and was his version of a speed technique called Soru and was similar to the body flicker but with several differences. It used wind chakra instead of normal chakra and he had been trying to create a vacuum in front of him in order to pull himself along faster and to limit the air resistance around him.

He was still a ways from effectively using at as it required a great deal of control to create the vacuum in front of him and channel wind chakra it into his legs to give him the faster initial burst of speed. The results were usually that he lost control of the wind chakra and damaged the muscles and tendons in his legs. He still needed hand-seals to have better success with it and even then his legs still got injured. Perhaps it was the hand-seals that were wrong but it was likely that it just required an lot of concentration and manipulation of his chakra to get the technique to do what he wanted. He was getting better at controlling it but it still injured him. Trying to get two separate things to happen at the same time in one technique was not easy.

Combining the speed and cutting techniques at once was something that he had tried and the results were exactly what he had just done only this time it was worse because he hadn't used hand-seals for better control. His arm was fine as he had already mastered the Ketatamashii but would take a couple of days to heal completely.. So he couldn't stand or even move his legs at the moment without feeling incredible pain which was an addition to the constant pain that he was already feeling by not moving them.

With only his arms, Naruto dragged himself away from the body and the pooling blood. He glanced at the body again and then looked away. 'This is what I designed it for, but now I wish I never created it. Sora can win the contest, I don't want to use this jutsu to win.' he thought sadly.

The woman, whose name he still didn't know, had gotten up and then she looked at the body and screamed. Looking over to him she got up and came over, "All you alright?" she questioned with a concerned voice and he nodded.

Putting his hands into a familiar seal, he created a few shadow clones to take care of everything. His gear and swords were still a dozen feet away on the ground and he couldn't walk. Feeling his surroundings, he noted that Sasuke seemed fine and he could also feel Kakashi there. 'He got here on my shadow clone.' he thought and looked to see what was going on as the clones he just created were not moving.

Sitting up slightly, he looked around to find them all on the ground and not moving like he was. "You gotta be kidding me, what the hell!" he said out loud as he looked at the worthless clones he just created. 'I didn't know that could happen? So the clones I create have the same injuries as me!" he thought with shock and disappointment. "Shit. What am I going to do now?" he thought out loud at his current problem.

It was at that point that one of the clones sat up and said, "Just kidding." The rest got up as well and started laughing at his expense.

"YOU STUPID BASTARDS!" said Naruto as he cursed out his clones.

"Way to insult yourself." stated the same clones and the others just laughed again as they went to work picking up his stuff and taking care of the body.

"Someone punch him!" demanded Naruto as he pointed at the offending clone.

"Do it yourself." one of the other ones shouted.

"I HATE YOU ALL! I'll never create any of you again!" shouted Nartuo while flailing his arms.

"Yes you will, we're too valuable." stated another clones.

"DAMN IT!"

x-x

Being carried back to his teammate and the jonin was not something he was enjoying. Then again, Kakashi was still having trouble walking but the wagon had been brought back by his clone and the villagers that had been hostages had let all three ninja ride in the wagon instead of walking. Both Sasuke and Kakshi were sitting on the bench of the wagon and Naruto was lying down on the bed of the wagon as it was the only comfortable position for him to be in. However, the slight bumpiness of the dirt road was not helping the pain of his legs.

Sasuke was giving occasional glances at Naruto as he wanted to know how he had won against his opponent and Naruto wasn't talking. The explanation that Naruto had given, was that he had pushed himself too hard and damaged his legs. Kakashi had bought the explanation but knew there was more too it and Sasuke wanted to know exactly how his legs had been damaged.

"So, how are we going to explain this to everyone else?" inquired Naruto to Kakashi and Sasuke looked towards the jonin as well.

"The others are likely to be suspicious of what happened any, so I'll tell Asuma and Sakura and we'll let Asuma tell his students. In the morning we'll go after the remaining bandits while Naruto stays in the village to rest. We'll also be eating the rations we brought and drinking water not from the village. Sorry but we just can't trust you." Kakashi said and eye-smiled at the villagers that were listening to the conversation. They didn't really mind though as it was understandable and they were lucky nothing else was going to happen.

"We're still finishing the mission?" Sasuke asked and Kakashi nodded, "We said we would take care of the bandits and came all this way to take care of the bandits, so guess what we'll be doing?" Kakashi said rhetorically and eye-smiled at his student.

"What about the mission rank? Won't it go up?" asked Sasuke as he was eager to have a higher ranking mission under his belt and this mission seemed more than just a C-rank.

"Well, I'm not really sure about that. I suppose the mission rank might go up but there are some pretty extenuating circumstances. Technically the mission was a lie as it wasn't requested by the mayor of the city or the villagers and they were forced to drug us, so I'm not really sure what will happen. While we are here, we can make a new contract and take care of the bandits like we originally planned to do." stated Kakashi and his information about the mayor and villagers was what Naruto's clone had told him had happened.

"The bandit leader claimed to have knowledge of the mission, so it's likely that he made the request and then forced the villagers to go through with it." said Naruto and it wasn't completely a lie but merely a half-truth.

Kakashi nodded and pulled out his book to read. Sasuke looked at Naruto questioningly but his returning glare shut the boy up. Naruto wasn't about to cause even more trouble for the village.

Walking alongside the wagon, Hitomi dropped her head slightly and tried not to cry at the fact that despite all the trouble that she had caused him, that person was still willing to help her village and even lie for them. It made her feel so guilty about everything she had caused. She had basically used and tricked people into helping her and her village and not only was one of them placing the blame elsewhere but her village would likely be able to call on ninja in the future if they needed help from bandits again. Of course this time it would be for an actual mission and they wouldn't try and drug them. She had never known ninja to be so selfless or kind to others.

x-x

Sometime after sunrise

x-x

After getting as much sleep as they possibly could, Kakashi and Sasuke woke up along with Team Ten and Sakura. They had carried the other ninja back to the inn to sleep on beds and not tables. Naruto had slept in as he had activated his senses seal to stop him from feeling the pain so he could fall asleep and it wouldn't keep him up. Sleep was the best thing for him at the moment and Kakashi didn't try to wake him.

Both teams were informed of what had happened and Sasuke decided to question Naruto later about why he had lied to Kakashi. Team Seven stayed to train and watch over the village while Team Ten went out to scout for bandits.

Naruto awoke hours later and had one of his shadow clones bring back food for him. He wasn't going to turn down good food and even if it was poisoned, he really didn't care. Anything was better than those ration bars. He might even spend some time in the hot springs, to help his legs of course.

x-x

It was difficult to find time to talk with Naruto alone as his two fangirls would not leave him alone the entire trip back from Aomori. Sasuke had to wait until they were back in the village and after the mission briefing which took a very long time. Naruto was in the longest as he was talking personal with the Hokage.

They had stayed in Aomori for nearly a week while taking care of the bandits and turning them over to the local authorities in the capital of Hot Springs Country. He had waited rather patiently to ask why Naruto had lied to Kakashi about the fact that one of the villagers had really requested a mission from Konoha instead of one of the bandits.

'Why help out people you don't even know? Especially ones who didn't have a problem with drugging us and letting someone else kill us? We only got paid for performing a C-rank mission because of that lie.' he thought irritably.

Everything else they had done wasn't considered a mission because the original mission scroll was never sent by the actual client and was falsified. They had performed a new C-rank mission that was given to them by the actual mayor and had been paid for that mission but it was like everything else didn't really happen. Kakashi had told him that because it wasn't an actual mission, they couldn't get any written credit.

They had basically performed a free service for the people of Aomori while not under contract because the original mission was voided. Both of them had not been under orders from Kakashi to do anything, the Hokage had not approved any mission, and they had not been contracted by the village to save those hostages. Therefore, the endeavor of stopping the bandit, fighting the ninja, and saving the hostages was not a ranked mission and was not recorded. Essentially it was a separate and unrelated event. Only the Hokage and the few people who were there, conscious or unconscious, even knew about it. It was like some kind of conspiracy to ensure that parts of the mission never happened and Naruto seemed to be the ringleader behind it.

The only explanation that he got was that Konoha couldn't be known for giving out free missions or performing free services so they couldn't talk about it or put it on record. Konoha's primary income was from missions and they couldn't let other places or clients know that they worked for free. They also couldn't change extra for it because the villagers hadn't actually requested the original mission in the first place and they couldn't send ninja out to perform tasks and demand money for the unrequested services. That was one of the laws that the village was founded on. Only missions that were requested could be performed for money. Separate missions that were not for money could be requested by the Hokage but that did not apply in this case. There were also rules for when the village was at war or attacked that also didn't apply.

What he and Naruto had done was more of out of kindness as there was never any discussion of money or a contract with the village. The new contract with Aomori was made after they had done the free service so they couldn't get credit or money for it. They had essentially saved a village without actually saving it and it annoyed the hell out of him.

'Naruto even got the people of the village to go along with the lie.' thought Sasuke as he went after Naruto as they were exiting the Hokage tower from the briefing.

Catching up with the boy before Naruto managed to get away from him, or get himself lost, Sasuke stepped in front of him to block his path.

"Why did you lie to Kakashi? We could have had a B or even A-ranked mission." Sasuke stated.

Naruto shrugged, "I didn't want to ask more money from them as I didn't really think they had much to begin with. We went to do a C-ranked mission and we did one."

"But we went on that extra mission and now no one will know about it." contested Sasuke.

"I know I did it and you know you did it. Isn't that enough?" questioned Naruto and even though Sasuke didn't respond, he could tell that the boy's scowl meant 'No'.

"Well then that's too bad. If you say anything about it..." and he thought for a second about what he would do, "...I'll destroy your tomato garden."

"Idiot, I don't even have a tomato garden. You made that up." stated a glaring Sasuke with his arms crossed.

'Oh yeah. I did lie about that, but why do I get the feeling he's lying to me.' Naruto thought but dismissed it and found something else he could threaten the Uchiha with, "Well then, you might not know when or how, but I will get back at you if you talk. If you thought what I did with that scroll and Kiba was immature, you should know that I can sink _way_ lower than that."

Although he tried not to show it, the threat was real to him. Kiba was just the victim of a harmless, in some peoples view, prank. 'I don't really want to know what he's capable of when he has a grudge.' thought Sasuke and with a frown he dropped the subject and left.

Naruto was about to leave before he turned around and waved to a figure that was standing behind a good distance away on one of the buildings in the area.

x-x

Kakashi frowned as he stared down at his student that was waving at him. 'Am I that easy to find?' he questioned but he also knew from what Pakkun had told him that Naruto was a chakra sensor. He had suspected something like that for several months but wasn't completely sure until Pakkun confirmed it. He remembered what his little pug had said:

"He reacted to the situation before I even knew there was a situation. Usually sensors don't have the ability to sense feelings or have an idea of what the person they are sensing is going through. They mostly guess what is happening based on the movements. I can do something similar but not by sensing the chakra but by smelling. To tell what was happening and that a person was in danger like that is not something even the most accomplished sensors can do and even if the boy doesn't have much in the way of range, that ability alone makes him more gifted than most."

Pakkun had only managed to watch some of the battle from the trees but had mostly made sure that Sasuke was alright until he arrived, then saw the aftermath of Naruto's battle. Neither were sure what kind of jutsu Naruto used on the bandit and Kakashi had inspected the head later on but even he wasn't sure. 'From what Pakkun said, Naruto's weapons were not near him so it must have been a jutsu.' he thought but he didn't know much about what kinds of elemental or non-elemental jutsu that Naruto used.

He did think about going to the Hokage to request the files on Naruto, but thought perhaps now Naruto would open up to him more. He hoped the team would be brought a little closer together by this mission, even though Sakura had not been a part of most of it. 'Perhaps I should wait a little longer and see if I gain more of his trust. It would be best if he told me about what training and techniques he has, then for me to find out by reading his file. He's such a private person that he might take that as a betrayal by myself and perhaps even the Sandaime.' thought Kakashi and it made sense to him to wait a little longer. After not finding out very much at all, he had discovered quite a bit about Naruto on their last mission.

He did find out that the Hokage had all of the files on Naruto locked up and they could only be accessed with his permission. As long as he knew where the files were, he could look at them a little later, there was plenty of time.

x-x

Looking around to make sure that the coast was clear in his compound, Sasuke went to a small garden near his house. After Naruto had told everyone that he had a tomato garden it put an idea in his head, 'What if I did have a tomato garden?'

It wasn't like he didn't like tomatoes, in fact he loved tomatoes, and it made him wonder if Naruto actually knew that about him or whether it was just a lucky guess. Looking at the small green plants that were sprouting up out of the ground, he smiled slightly at the irony of it as he got the watering can. Soon his plants would grow and he would have his very own tomatoes. He just had to make sure no one found out about it, especially Naruto, and especially his fangirls, and especially Naruto. He knew the masked boy would never let him hear the end of it if the garden was discovered.

Please Review


	21. Chapter 21

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

**POLL: I'll keep the Poll up a little longer but here are the current results. Its shifted back and forth a number of times and at this point three choices are still in the running.**

**Completely different from canon – 33 votes**

**No preliminary rounds – 31 votes**

**Similar to canon – 26 votes**

**Same as canon – 5 votes **

AN: It will be a few chapters until the second exam is over as I have a few things planned for the forest of death that will occur in the next chapter.

x-x

Chapter XXI: Chunin exams

Konoha, one month after the last chapter

x-x

Training at the usual place, Naruto waited for the right moment as Sora kicked a boulder at him. Taking two of his swords out, he held the swords parallel to each other and the ground. 'Two sword style: double slash.' (Nitoryuu: Nigiri) he stated and with a short burst of speed and a fast spin, he cut the boulder into three separate horizontal segments.

After putting his swords away, he looked down at the pieces and checked so see how smooth his cuts were. He hadn't put any wind chakra into his blades when he used the attack, so whatever damage done was what the attacks were originally supposed to do when Zoro created them. Based on what he knew from the books though, the attack he just used was still less than the power and cutting ability that Zoro used at different parts of the story.

'Still, its pretty cool to cut through solid rock with just two swords and nothing else.' he thought and went to take a short break, which for him was a short nap.

His mind wandered for a little bit as he started falling asleep in the way he had become accustomed to over several years time. The chunin exams were very soon but he hadn't received any kind of notice from Kakashi about them. It made him wonder if the man planned for his team to take them or not. It wasn't something he had considered and he might have to talk with the Hokage about it later on. It was only seven in the morning so he had plenty of time to nap, train a little more, get some food, and then get to the meeting place before Kakashi arrived.

x-x

Hours later, Naruto walked through the back-alleys of the village towards the meeting place. He was wearing one of his reinforced t-shirts, ninja pants and his standard mask and bandana. The shirt was a dark green today and he had on black pants. His mask and bandana were also a dark green. His swords were attached in their holster on his left side and he had two ninja pouches attached on the back of his haramaki while a shuriken holster was attached on his right leg. One of the ninja pouches was just filled completely with scrolls and other fuinjutsu paraphernalia.

Taking a specific route so as to avoid his teammate Sakura, as he could feel her in the area, he walked down a different alley. Slowing down, he started feeling another signature that he had been completely avoiding for quite some time, which was the Hokage's grandson. So he took another route but stopped again as he felt a few chakra signatures that he hadn't felt in months coming from that direction. Then he felt Sasuke and a few more signatures traveling in different directions but that would intersect near him.

'Shit, its like their boxing me in!' he thought and looked around quickly for an escape while his necklace started glowing slightly. Looking from one direction to the next, he tried to find a way out. He was in the residential area of Konoha with no tall buildings to jump onto, just fences and short buildings. Unfortunately, by the time he figured out a direction to take, he already heard the calling of his teammate. 'Damn it, I should have just melded into the ground. Why didn't I just do that from the start?' he questioned and turned to Sakura who was already upon him.

"I tried calling you out to you, but you just ignored me." stated Sakura as she walked up to him. Looking around, she noticed that Naruto seemed a little strange or at least tense and she thought, 'I can't believe it, he got lost while inside the village again.'

"The meeting area is this way, idiot." she said and grabbed his arm while dragging him off in the direction he didn't want to head.

'What kind of grip is this? Let me go you banshee!' Naruto yelled inside his head while he continued to be pulled in the direction he didn't want to go. He couldn't figure out why he wasn't able to get away, it was if his strength had temporarily left him. No sooner had he thought that then they ran into more of the people he didn't want to see.

Being held up by his shirt was Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson, and holding him up by the shirt was one of the people that Naruto ran into on the mission to Suna and he was standing next to a second Suna ninja. Two other academy students were standing in the area and watching their friend. 'Why does this keep getting worse and worse? I should have just run in a random direction when I had the chance.' he thought as he knew that he was about to get involved not because he wanted to but because he felt he had to.

"Oi, you in the cat suit, put the brat down." Naruto stated as he walked forward to the scene.

They were at a t-intersection in the residential area and surrounded by tall wooden fences. Naruto walked to the academy students that were standing there and stared at the two Suna ninja. Feeling his surroundings, Naruto could sense Gaara and the boy was a good distance away but heading for their location. It seemed he might run into the complete Suna team, minus the sensei.

"This isn't a cat suit asshole and this little brat ran into me, I'm just teaching him a lesson." stated Kankuro as he pulled his fist back.

Standing near Kankuro was Temari, his older sister, and she looked on with disinterest as he brother held up the small child. Looking to the new comers, she didn't consider the pink haired girl a threat but was rather interested in the boy with the glowing blue eyes. The four pony-tailed girl felt like she had seen him before.

"Well I suppose you could teach him a lesson, but I should warn you," said Naruto and he paused to make sure he had the cat man's attention, "Right after that punch connects, it will become my duty as a ninja of Konoha to not only kick your ass, but to drag your kicked ass to the headquarters of the Intelligence and Interrogation department. There you will enjoy several days and nights of an all expense payed torture and questioning session by Konoha's best interrogators to determine why you attacked the grandchild of the Hokage. So...by all means, punch the kid and teach him a lesson that _you _won't soon forget." stated Naruto in a calm and steady voice while he placed his hands on his sword handles and tensed to attack. Killing intent and chakra began radiating off him and it was directed entirely on the Suna ninja.

Kankuro began sweating in his cat suit as he looked between the kid he was holding in his shaking hand and the masked ninja that was doing an excellent job of intimidating him. Several thoughts went through his head concerning whether the brat he was holding was really related to the Hokage or whether the Konoha genin could really do anything against him. He doubted it. Briefly glancing at Temari, who he could tell was very scared, he noted she was shaking her head 'no' to make sure he didn't do what he was planning.

Looking towards the kid he was holding, the brat was smiling and had moved his cheek to the side, angling it upwards slightly, as if offering the cheek to be punched. 'Little damn brat.' he thought and was about to finish the punch when a rock came out of nowhere and smacked into his hand, which caused him to drop the brat.

While Konohamaru ran back to his fellow students, everyone's eyes went up to Sasuke who was sitting in the tree and tossing a rock up and down. "What are you guys doing in our village?" he questioned and then crushed the rock he was tossing.

Sakura cheered Sasuke's name and Temari noted how cute he was, but Naruto was thinking something else.

"Honestly Sasuke, who throws a rock? You could have used a kunai or shuriken, or maybe pulled off a piece of your inflated ego and thrown that, but you chose a rock? Was that even a rock you crushed or just a dirt clod?" questioned Naruto to his teammate.

Sakura promptly yelled something at Naruto, which was ignored, and Kankuro laughed while Temari seemed a little disappointed. Sasuke just glared at Naruto as his well planned entrance had been destroyed.

"And you, the guy with makeup and cat pajamas, exactly what did an academy student do to you?" asked Naruto in a dull voice.

Kankuro glared and said, "Nothing much, I just had short brats who are rude. I guess you fall into that category as well."

Naruto just stared back at the Suna ninja and met the glare with an even better one that sent chills down the spines of both Suna ninja, even though he wasn't actually looking at Temari.

It was at that moment that Temari finally recognized what was so familiar about the boy. She only managed to put it together when she heard him call Kankuro's uniform a 'cat pajamas' and the voice fit as did the glowing eyes, 'He's the intruder from a few months ago!' she realized. Temari knew she was correct but wasn't sure what to do with the information.

"Your the intruder." she blurted out loud and Naruto's eyes widened at the statement while Kankuro looked at her questioningly.

Thinking up something quickly to say he replied, "The only intruders here is you and the cat man. Both of you are very suspicious."

"Your the one who's suspicious." refuted Temari.

"Me, suspicious!" questioned Naruto and he kept the conversation going away from where it had been.

"Of course your suspicious, you even wear a mask to hide your identity." argued Temari and the other people present looked back at Naruto to see what he would say.

"I'm wearing a mask?" Naruto stated with feigned surprise and confusion as he tried to look down at his face and started touched his cheeks to find the supposed mask.

Several people sweat-dropped and Sasuke nearly fell out of the tree while Temari's eye just twitched at the boy in front of her. Naruto however didn't stop there and kept the act up.

"Why didn't anyone tell me I was wearing a mask!" he stated while looking in the reflection of one of his kunai at his masked face, "When did I put this on? Did someone put it on me as a joke!"

Temari's fist clenched but she tried to steer the conversation back to where it was in hopes of getting some answers, "You infiltrated our village!" she accused and Naruto looked up from the reflection on his kunai that he was using as a mirror.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm a Konoha ninja and this is my village. Why would I infiltrate it?" he questioned and continued, "And your from Suna, why would you consider Konoha as 'our' village? We don't know you well enough for you to be included in that pronoun." he said and smiled beneath his mask as the girl he was arguing with got madder.

'Dear Kami, he's an idiot and completely infuriating.' she thought and had enough of his idiocy. Grabbing her fan she swung the object and it struck the top of Naruto's head, but nothing happened.

"Was that really necessary?" Naruto questioned in a bored voice as everyone stared at him. The fan was still in contact with his head and he hadn't moved or seemed to be in any pain.

'What the hell? That usually knocks out Kankuro for a few hours. His head's so thick I can't hurt him.' thought a thoroughly confused Temari and she removed the fan from the uninjured boy in complete disappointment.

'I can totally relate to her feeling of disappointment. My punches never work against him.' thought Sakura sadly. She could send Kiba flying or damage the foundation of a house but she couldn't seem to hurt Naruto at all.

'And the crisis is temporarily averted.' thought Naruto and he just hoped it would last until he could get away. The girl would likely remember it later but she had no real proof, so he doubted anything could be done. Even her teammate was still not sure what she had been trying to get at and throwing all of the misdirection was just to stop the girl from revealing or saying anything further.

However, his attention was diverted and he glanced at the tree to find the red haired boy looking down on him. 'Oh great, Gaara's here.' he thought and wondered what would happen next.

The other glanced in the direction he was looking and everyone but Sasuke saw Gaara in the tree. Noticing their glances, Sasuke looked over to a higher branch on the opposite side of the tree and saw another Suna ninja. The boy quickly disappeared in a swirl of sand and reappeared at the same moment down below next to the other ninja.

"Kankuro, your an embarrassment to the village. Did you forget why we even came here? Don't make me kill you." stated Gaara but the entire time he was staring at the masked boy in front of him. He had waited quite a while for the moment when they would meet back up.

"Yes, Gaara. I'm sorry. Really sorry" stated Kankuro in a placating manner and he backed away from his little brother.

The staring went on for quite some time as the others watched. Sasuke had jumped down and wanted to know why the skilled newcomer was so interested in Naruto. 'I didn't even sense him and he was right next to me.' he thought and glanced at Naruto, who was the only person that had noticed the newcomer. 'Was it just his vantage point, or was he able to detect what I couldn't?' he wondered with a frown.

"Hey you, what's your name." stated Sasuke.

"Do you mean me." asked Temari with a slight blush and Sasuke said, "No, you with the gourd." It was stated while looking directly at Gaara but the boy only acknowledged Sasuke's presence with a brief glance before looking back at Naruto. The two boys continued to stare in silence as glowing blue looked into light green. It was at that point that Gaara began to smile.

'Wow. He's really happy to see me. Scary kind of happy.' Naruto noted but he didn't back down.

"Subaku no Gaara." the boy stated but didn't wait for a response. "Uchiha Sasuke." was the answer from Sasuke as he didn't like being ignored. Gaara turned around and started walking back in the direction that his two siblings had just come from. There was no need to exchange pleasantries as he already knew the boy's name was Ryuuma, from the interrupted introduction while in Suna, and now Ryuuma knew his name as well. To him it was rather obvious that the boy would be in the exams given his skill, so he only needed to wait a little longer to satisfy his mother's thirst for blood and confirm his existence.

Looking back and forth between their brother and the Konoha ninja, Temari and Kankuro started following Gaara. It was obvious to them that their little brother had taken an interest in the boy and they actually felt sorry for the masked ninja. At least Kankuro did as Temari was still angry at him.

Before they were out of earshot and used the body flicker technique, Naruto yelled, "If your looking for a place to eat, check out Baraties or Ichiraku's restaurants. They're the best in town."

Satisfied that they had heard his free advertisement of his favorite places, he went back on his route to the meeting place. Glancing briefly at one of the trees in the surrounding area, he tried to find anything else out that he could about the three unknown ninja hidden in the leaves. Unfortunately there was nothing else he could find out.

Continuing his course down the street and leaving everyone else behind, Naruto seemed to be perfectly fine on the outside, but he was deep in thought on the inside. His thoughts concerned why Suna would send a jinchuuriki to the exams and the possibilities of what it might mean. 'First they get detailed village information sent to them and then during the chunin exams, they send their jinchuuriki.' it made him wonder what else was going on. The girl of the group had also figured out who he was, which meant that Gaara likely didn't tell anyone about his infiltration of Suna and he couldn't figure out why.

It was only a matter of time before the girl remembered what she had discovered and told someone else from her village. He wondered what impact that would have as it was just speculation and they really didn't have solid proof he did anything, nor had they caught him in the act.

He had asked Shakky about the information that he had intercepted and what it could mean. His Baa-chan told him that information of that kind was never used for any good purpose, especially if it was given to a village that Konoha had a non-aggression pact with. That information was likely to be used to invade the village or if another war was going to occur.

It made him wonder whether he had actually stopped something with his stunt in Suna or whether he hadn't done anything at all. 'Why send a jinchuuriki who is obviously at a higher rank than normal genin to the chunin exams. Then again I'm taking the exams too so it I can't really say anything.' were his thoughts.

It made sense if Suna wanted to show up the other villages that were to appear in the exams, but most of the other five elemental countries were not appearing nor did they ever appear in the Konoha chunin exams. A good explanation was that Suna specifically wanted to show up Konoha and use their jinchuuriki to do it, but that seemed rather dangerous given how unstable Gaara felt to him. The eyes he looked into were not that of a person that was completely sane and for a brief period during their stare-down, he thought Gaara would actually attack him.

'I'll have to tell the Old Man about this, and Baa-chan.' Naruto concluded and changed direction.

x-x

"He spotted us." said a bandaged figure in the trees to his two teammates that were standing next to him.

"What do you think?" asked one of them and the bandaged leader thought for a moment before stating, "The masked boy and the one with the gourd are ones to watch out for. I can't hear much of anything from the masked one, its like he has a countermeasure to our sound location technique. Be extra careful with him. The dark haired one is also worth watching out for."

The other two nodded as they looked toward the masked boy that was walking away.

x-x

Shakky's Rip-off Bar

x-x

Opening his eyes groggily, Zabuza looked around and noticed he was in the bar. That wasn't new or surprising as he had passed out in there before. 'That woman stocks some powerful booze.' he thought and was about to get up when he discovered he was tied to a chair. 'What the hell!'

Looking around he noticed Haku was standing nearby. The girl looked rather guilty and his mind raced as he tried to figure out what might be going on. The door to the back room opened and Shakky stepped entered the bar with a few items in her hands. Walking over she smiled and said, "Good, your up. Lets gets started."

Thoroughly confused, Zabuza shouted, "What the hell is going on!"

Shakky partially ignored him and put the items down on the table. Zabuza noted that they consisted of a large mirror, etching tools, fuinjutsu ink, a brush, hair dye, and a few tools that reminded him of something a dentist would use. Once Shakky was finished she turned and smiled, "Your probably wondering what's going on?" she stated as if Zabuza had never asked his earlier question and completely ignored his glare, "For your next mission, which will be in a week or two, you'll need a different look. Everyone can easily recognize you based on your features, so I'll need to make some adjustments. Since you don't like to use a henge, we'll have to use something else."

Zabuza's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the items on the table and realized what she possibly intended. They had been going on missions for Shakky since they signed the contract with her. It was mostly looking for a few items while stealing from and eliminated crime syndicate bosses and other wealthy people deeply involved with illegal activities, but nothing had happened like this before.

Struggling in the ninja wire, he noted the chakra suppressing seals on his body. Looking to Haku he saw that she refused to look him in the eye or make any move to help him. "Damn it, Haku! Why are you just standing around? Help me out of this!" he demanded form his tool.

"I'm sorry Zabuza-sama. She's kidnapped Mr. Skippy." confessed Haku with obvious distress.

'That fucking rabbits been nothing but trouble from the start!' thought a furious Zabuza and he looked around for the Demon Brothers, only ti find them passed out at one of the tables. 'They're never any help! The rabbits been more useful then they have!' Zabuza raged as he looked back to Shakky who had removed the bottle of hair dye from the box.

"Don't come near me with that stuff!" stated Zabuza and released all the killing intent he could.

"Even after all this time working for me, you still don't seem to understand that your killing intent has no effect on me. But you just keep trying, how cute." Shakky stated with a smile and set the bottle down.

Zabuza relaxed slightly and then looked to where she was looking with some foreboding. "Perhaps I should do something about your sword first. After all, it would be the easiest thing for people in Water Country to recognize you by." she said and started walking over to the sword. Zabuza didn't even register the fact that whatever job she wanted him to do was in Water Country as he was more concerned with his sword.

"Don't. Touch. My. Sword." he growled.

A bemused Shakky merely stretched out her hand and touched the handle.

x-x

Walking down the main street of the foreign village, Temari looked up and down the different shops and other stores. She wasn't looking for anything in particular but she was going to be in the village for a while, as the exams didn't start for a week, and she needed something to do besides training. Gaara had gone back to the hotel, leaving her and Kankuro to themselves. They had been told not to cause anymore problems by Gaara and both siblings intended to do just that.

Looking over the windows and the names, she memorized the few that she was interested in and ignored the dull groan of her brother as the village didn't have anything he wanted to see. The only places Kankuro ever went to were specific restaurants to eat and most of the puppetry stores in Suna to pick up new supplies. Since Konoha obviously didn't use puppets, it was likely that her brother would shut himself off in his room and continuously tinker with his puppet Crow.

Her eyes came across two names that registered to her. 'Baratie...Ichiraku's' she thought and stopped to get a closer look. She got close enough to glance into the windows and saw that both were restaurants that were right next to each other but those were the only things they had in common. Each place was completely different on the inside. Baratie was much more formal and had a very different decorating scheme than Ichiraku's. One felt more elegant while the other felt more comfortable.

She knew Kankuro really wouldn't care but she was stuck between which she wanted.

x-x

Sora's head shot up as he had a familiar feeling, 'Its a damsel in distress.' he recognized and searched for the location of this disturbance.

Standing right outside the store front was a very beautiful young kunoichi. After a brief moment of ogling, he ran out of the restaurant.

x-x

Temari's eyes widened and she was about grab her fan as she felt a possible attack coming but her hand was grabbed by the offender.

"A young lady such as yourself should never be burdened by a choice over cuisine. Come with me, I shall cook whatever you desire from either menu." stated the well dressed newcomer and Temari blushed. The way he tenderly held her hand and gave her his complete attention swept her off her feet and she found herself walking into Baratie without even realizing it.

An annoyed Kankuro followed the pair but was stopped at the door by the same man that had led Temari into the restaurant, "We have a dress code and it doesn't include cat pajamas. Try next door." stated Sora with a serious expression as he stopped the Suna ninja from entering.

Twitching slightly, Kankuro stated, "This is a uniform of the Puppet Corps in Suna. NOT pajamas!" he stated furiously and wondered why they hell everyone in this village seemed to think they were cat pajamas.

'Then why does Naruto use the exact same set of clothes for pajamas?" Sora questioned and decided not to let it worry him. A young woman was waiting after all.

"I don't believe you." said Sora and closed the door in Kankuro's face.

x-x

Standing against the railing of the bridge that was Team Seven's normal meeting place, Sasuke and Sakura waited patiently for their other teammate and sensei.

"Where the hell are they!" yelled Sakura for the fourth time in the past two hours and Sasuke merely sighed at the loudness. Both genin and sensei were already several hours late to their usual meeting. Naruto had even left before them and still hadn't arrived.

"Yo!" Kakashi said from on top the railing and both students turned to look at their tardy sensei.

"Your late!" shouted Sakura and Kakashi merely nodded, "I got lost." he simple stated with a shrug.

"That's a lame excuse for a jonin." commented Sakura and Kakashi eye-smiled.

"Seeing as your all here..." Kakashi began and was interrupted

"We're not all here! Naruto-baka is late too!" Sakura stated and Kakashi gave her her a funny look.

"I'm standing right behind you." came Naruto's voice and Sakura jumped while Sasuke looked surprised at the fact that Naruto had snuck up on both of them.

"Like I said...now that we're all here, I've signed you three up for the chunin exams. All you have to do is show up at the Academy on Friday at 4:30 PM. You each have a choice of whether or not you want to take the exam. Ja ne" and with that Kakashi disappeared just as fast as he had arrived.

The three genin looked at the papers with three different looks and then went their separate ways.

x-x

Just finishing her desert, Temari's eyes suddenly widened as she remembered what had happened earlier in the day. 'I figured out who the intruder was and where he came from.' she recalled and knew that she would have to tell their sensei Baki as she wasn't sure what effects it could have on their mission. She couldn't believe she had actually forgotten about that. The one thing she vividly remembered was her conversation with the masked idiot and her failure to teach him a lesson for annoying her.

The realization raised many questions and she had time to think about them. Did Konoha suspect them of something? What happened to the real scroll that was supposed to be delivered? How had the boy escaped capture? And just who was the brat that they had encountered not once but twice? None of them had asked his name and the only name given by the intruder was Ryuuma. She also noted that Gaara seemed very interested in the boy and she wondered why. 'He didn't show any skills that would have interested Gaara, except for his killing intent.' she thought and shuddered slightly as she remembered it. It was at least as strong as Gaara's but also very different.

Putting her napkin down, she wanted to sigh in aggravation and worry but the food was just too good for her to feel that way now. Taking another bite she enjoyed the taste of the desert once again but frowned slightly, 'What was it that I was supposed to tell Baki-sensei again?' she wondered but just pushed the thought aside as it would come to her later.

x-x

Ninja Academy, later that week

x-x

The academy was very busy that afternoon but not because of classes or academy students, but the large number of genin there for the chunin exams. Many were standing or loitering outside of the building as they were early and the exam didn't start for around twenty minutes. The villages each team represented consisted of only Suna and Konoha from the major villages and a multitude of genin teams from the minor villages.

Naruto had taken the front entrance to the building, which was completely different from the way he normally entered the academy when he had been enrolled there. He could feel his teammates standing in front of the main entrance as well as around one hundred fifty other people, most of which he had never felt before. He found it slightly disorienting as they were all ninja with average to higher chakra reserves for genin and most were moving around the school yard or inside the building.

No words were exchanged with his teammates as they walked back into the academy. Naruto never thought he would ever come back, at least he hoped he would never have to come back. The academy had never been a place that he was comfortable in. Most of the information being taught was already things that he had known and his classmates had all treated him like a criminal at one time or another. It was hard to forget those things with a memory as good as his.

Walking up the first flight of stairs, Sasuke and Sakura looked down the hall and stared at the gathering genin outside of room 301. Two slightly older Konoha ninja were standing outside the door and barring anyone else entry. One boy in green spandex was on the ground and rubbing his bruised cheek from a punch that he had received from trying to enter the room that the two boys were watching.

Naruto smiled at the show that Izumo and Kotetsu were putting on and walked up the next flight of stairs until he stopped as he felt Sasuke start to walk down the hall.

'Idiots...' Sasuke thought as he started to walk to the disturbance in the hallway. 'Its obvious that we're on the second floor and yet all those people are trying to get into the wrong room because of a simple genjutsu. If this is the competition for the exams, then it should be a piece of cake.' he thought and he saw a chance to show up the competition. He had only taken a couple of steps from the staircase when he his collar was grabbed from behind.

Sasuke was yanked back to the staircase and then dragged up the steps while he could hear Sakura yelling. Turning his head, he managed to see that Naruto was dragging him. Before he could say anything Naruto said, "Idiot. Don't stray from the group and get yourself lost. This always happens and its not even just mission anymore."

Sasuke's eye twitched, 'Its like the kunai calling the shuriken sharp.' he thought as he tried to get his high collar free from Naruto's grasp and stop from being dragged. He could hear Sakura shouting for Naruto to let him go and it just made him more frustrated.

He finally managed to get Naruto to release him, only to find that they were now on the third floor. Naruto began walking down the hall to the correct room while Sasuke adjusted his shirt and tried to get Sakura to stop trying to help him. Looking back down at the stairwell, he glanced back at Naruto and then walked back down the stairs.

Turning around Naruto saw a pink bobbing head disappear down the staircase and cursed, 'Stupid Uchiha. How does this keep happening? I should have just tied him up and dragged him all the way to 301. I wouldn't have to worry about Sakura, she would just follow the Uchiha wherever I dragged him.' he thought and it was definitely a thought for later or the next time something like this happened, but he decided to just go to the correct room and maybe take a nap.

He was nearly at the door to the real room 301 when Kakashi appeared holding his Icha Icha and quickly looked puzzled when he stopped reading from the book to look up at his single genin. "Where are Sasuke and Sakura?" questioned Kakashi as this was the opposite of his worst fear, which was Naruto not to show up, most likely because the boy had gotten himself lost.

"Sasuke decided to help the other participants and show off in the process. Sakura followed him and is likely helping." Naruto responded with a dull look and Kakashi wasn't sure how to respond. 'Sasuke's helping the other genin?' questioned a confused Kakashi.

"When are you going to decide who is actually in charge when you're not around. This is getting ridiculous, especially if those two keep running around and getting lost. I'm not their babysitter." stated Naruto in an annoyed tone and while practically glaring at Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed as it was something he had tried to figure out when they had returned from their second C-rank mission. The problem was team dynamics or lack-there-of. If he gave the leadership position to Sasuke, the boy would let it go to his head and probably do something foolish. Which was exactly what had just happened. If he gave it to Naruto, Sasuke wouldn't follow orders and that meant neither would Sakura. Finally, if he gave it to Sakura, no one would follow her and his pink haired genin was the least skilled of the group in the ninja arts, leadership, or in making plans.

'Well I guess this is as good a time as any.' he thought and said, "You can be the team leader Naruto." and it made sense from the current standpoint because Naruto was acting the most responsibly.

Naruto nodded and proceeded to make his way to the door, but was stopped by Kakashi's arm. While reading his book, Kakashi explained, "I afraid you can't go in until the rest of the team is here. I said it was an individual choice to make sure that all of the group felt that they were..." and he stopped when he looked up from his book to find Naruto was no longer there. Turning his head, he saw the door to 301 swing shut. 'Well damn, he got right by me. I guess I'll let the examiner sort it out.' were his thoughts before leaning against the wall and waiting for the rest of his genin to show up.

x-x

"You don't honestly think you can enter the exams with just two of you, do you?" asked Neji as he looked at the dark haired boy in front of him who had refused to give his name. His other teammate Lee was off to the side professing his love for a girl he had just met and was promptly, but not very kindly, being turned down. Tenten, his third teammate, was standing not far off and blushing slightly at the boy he was walking with.

Sasuke frowned as Naruto had not come after them but continued on to the meeting room. At least he hoped Naruto made it to the meeting room. It wouldn't make that much of a deal though as if Naruto was already in the exam room, then they wouldn't have to worry about him getting lost. "He continued onto the next floor and is in the correct room. He's not very sociable." stated Sasuke as he didn't want to make his team seem weak to the other teams that were around them or give the impression that they were dysfunctional.

They parted ways but Lee watched the pair leave and followed them.

Watching from a short distance away in an empty classroom, the two genin that were guarding the room went up in smoke to reveal the disguised chunin underneath. Izumo and Kotetsu watched the happenings in the hallway and knew that Naruto had likely already gone upstairs to wait or perhaps had gotten lost in the building.

Both shook there heads at the boy and his horrible sense of direction. They were thrilled that the exams had finally come around as it was a chance for Naruto to get promoted and possibly come back to their team. It all depended on how well Naruto did in the exams and whether the Hokage wanted Naruto back with them.

x-x

Looking down on the fellow genin with mostly stupefied expressions, Teams Eight and Ten stared at the sleeping Naruto. The boy had walked right through the door without his teammates, sat down against the wall, and promptly fell asleep.

'Where's Sasuke-kun?'

'Where's the rest of his team?'

'How can he possibly sleep at at time like this?'

'Isn't he nervous at all?'

'To walk in the room, sit down, and fall asleep in a few minutes. I once again find myself very jealous of that ability.'

Each team had arrived only ten or more minutes before Naruto had. They had seen through the trick and walked past the genjutsu to the third floor and the real room 301. Now they just had to wait for the exam to start, which wouldn't be for about ten minutes.

'I wish I could fall asleep at a time like this.' thought Shikamaru as he looked at masked boy who was lightly snoring.

x-x

Naruto opened one eye as he felt some kind of attack and saw that it was just Ino jumping on Sasuke. It seemed his team had finally arrived and he noted Sasuke looked banged up. 'I wonder if he got beaten up by Izumo or Kotetsu?' he thought before shutting his eyes and going back to sleep.

x-x

The eye opened again a minute or so later and he had the feeling someone had said his name. Sasuke was facing away from him and towards a ninja Naruto had never seen before. The man was holding a deck of cards in his hands while kneeling on the ground to have a surface to put them on. Naruto's surroundings became more clear to him as he allowed himself to wake up more and not fall back to sleep. He wanted to see what was going on.

"So you know their names, that makes it much easier for me." stated the gray haired genin in the purple and white clothing. Shuffling through the deck, Naruto watched as the man removed a card and he could feel chakra added to it, which likely revealed or unsealed something on the card. The crowded genin surrounding the older boy moved in a little closer to see the contents of the card.

"Rock Lee. He's a year older than you and on Team Nine under Maito Gai. His teammates are Tenten and Hyuuga Neji. They did not take the chunin exam last year but waited a year before being entered into the exam. It seems he has made great progress in Taijutsu but not in any of the other ninja arts. He has twenty completed D-rank missions and eight C-ranks."

Shuffling through the cards again, Kabuto pulled out another card, "Subaku no Gaara. He's from Suna and this is his first time entering the exams, so I don't have much on him. He has eight C-ranks and one B-rank. Wow, that's impressive for a genin and he even returned from his missions without a scratch." stated Kabuto as he quickly went for the last card but couldn't find one. The crowded genin were still trying to let the previous information sink in and didn't notice Kabuto's trouble. Sifting through his deck slowly, he searched for Uzumaki Naruto but didn't find a card.

'An omission in my data?' Kabuto thought and tried to figure out why he didn't have a card on that person. His memory was not that good, which was why he created the ninja info cards in the first place. The name did sound familiar for many reasons and he knew who Uzumaki Naruto was but he had no idea what the boy looked like and apparently he didn't have a card on him.

"Are you sure the last one is in the exams?" Kabuto questioned as he had heard that the boy graduated but he couldn't seem to remember what team the boy had been placed on. The genin looked at him oddly, especially Sasuke and the pink haired girl, and turned back to look at something. Kabuto followed their gazes to see a boy sleeping on the floor against the wall of the room.

'That's Uzumaki Naruto?' Kabuto surmised but was unsure. He had never seen the boy and had only ever come across sparse information. He knew the boy was the village jinchuuriki but he had little information besides the Second Hyuuga Incident. Orochimaru had never been interested in the container of the Kyuubi so he never looked that deeply into it.

"He's our teammate." Sasuke stated and he looked at Kabuto with a questioning expression. The look Sasuke was giving him was as if to say, 'Is this guy an idiot?' Sasuke and several others then looked back at the sleeping genin again while Kabuto tried to figure out what was going on.

Looking through his cards, Kabuto pulled out Sasuke and Sakura's cards and looked at the information about them that he had illegally obtained. 'Both don't list Uzumaki Naruto as their teammate.' he noted and couldn't believe that he had such a lapse in his information and why he hadn't looked into it before. The cards didn't list anyone as their teammate just 'To Be Determined'. It seemed, from what his cards were telling him, that it was just a team of two under Hatake Kakashi.

"Well, that's embarrassing." stated Kabuto in a friendly manner and trying to fake being embarrassed at the situation. He laughed nervously and made it seem like a simple error on his part, but on the inside his mind was thinking very differently, 'How could I have missed that?' he wondered and couldn't remember ever seeing or going through a file on Uzumaki Naruto. Only now was the memory coming back concerning that they boy was placed Team Seven under Hatake Kakashi and he had only learned of that through word of mouth in the village and not through solid paper/record evidence.

He'd never had such a problem before, so he played it off as just not having everything about the contestants written down on his cards. He stated a few more things about the other chunin hopefuls and even insinuated that the ninja from the Sound village would likely not be a threat.

x-x

Naruto kept his eyes shut and pretended to be asleep as he listened to the man talk with the rookie genin. If by some chance Kabuto did have a card with any information on him, he likely would have sprang into action and not only destroyed the card but incapacitated Kabuto and taken the older genin to the Hokage. No one was supposed to have information on him, especially not anything from his sealed records.

The more he thought about it, the more he wondered how Kabuto had gotten that kind of information about the other genin in the exams. Thanks to his Baa-chan, he was very familiar with how information was gathered and stored as well as how the archive and records system in Konoha worked. Therefore, he knew that a genin probably shouldn't have that kind of information on other genin in Konoha, much less other genin in other villages. Mission records and detailed information like that were not supposed to be available to genin and the only way to get it was either to ask the genin in question to divulge that information, have someone else get it from the records room, or to get it from the archives yourself.

Genin couldn't even go into the archives without their Jonin sensei present with them and had to be supervised because those records did contain sensitive village information. The fact that Kabuto had this information was highly suspicious and he wondered what other information the older genin had. He planned to tell the Hokage about it after the first exam was over.

Both of Naruto's eyes opened when he felt an attack coming and he intently watched and used his chakra sensing ability to get more information about Kabuto and what he would do. One ninja threw several kunai, which Kabuto dodged, while another of the ninja jumped at Kabuto and swung a heavily armored arm. The attack missed but Kabuto's glasses cracked and a moment later the gray haired genin collapsed to the ground and vomited. He noted that while Kabuto didn't sense the attack before he did, the older genin sensed if before anyone else standing in the area which was saying something as the three ninja that charged at him had gone past several others without being noticed.

Everyone else who was watching knew that there was something else to the attack but none of them were sure what. Naruto at first thought it was some kind of wind release ninjutsu but he could feel that the chakra was different. It seemed to radiate or vibrate outwards from the metal arm that the genin had and he originally thought it was a burst of wind that entered the body of the opponent and hit them like a shock wave. It was then that he realized that it wasn't wind but likely sound that emanated from the arm and penetrated the enemies body. It obviously caused nausea in an opponent and destroyed their defense.

While he wasn't sure if it could damage the hearing, he knew he likely had to watch out for it as his hearing was heightened and it could affect him more than others. However, Kabuto didn't seem to be holding his ears and neither was anyone else in the area so it must not be a loud noise but rather something that no one else could hear. 'Like a dog whistle' he thought. Thinking about a counterattack or defense against a jutsu that couldn't be seen was difficult, but he knew that if he created a vacuum around himself, then he could protect his body from the attack. He was not sure what would happen if the attack struck him though. 'Could sound be channeled directly into the body?' he wondered and he wasn't sure but would use caution if he faced them later in the exam.

Sensing the incoming visitors, Naruto stood as a tall man in a black trench coat and several other ninja in gray uniforms appeared after the smoke of their arrival cleared.

He glanced back at Kabuto and noted that the teen was perfectly fine which he likely shouldn't have been from such an attack but he wasn't sure how long it took to recover from such a jutsu. He could tell that Kabuto could have dodged earlier but made sure to barely dodge the kunai that were thrown as well as the fist that was swung at him.

Naruto wondered why the boy was still a genin. To him, it seemed that Kabuto could have easily countered the ninja that charged him. Likely before the genin had been able to use his special jutsu considering how aware the teen was of the coming attack.

x-x

"Quit down you worthless bastards!" stated the scarred man as he looked out over the staring crowd.

When he had there attention, he continued, "I'm Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the first stage of the chunin exams."

"You three from the Hidden Sound Village, stop trying to fight the other ninja before the exam even starts. Do you want fail?" demanded the newly named Ibiki with a glare at the ninja in question.

An excuse was given but Ibiki didn't even care what it was, "There will be no fighting during this exam unless permission is given by me. Even if permission is given, there will be no killing under any circumstances. If you won't want to follow those rules, I'll just simple fail you and you can will each take a number from my chunin to get your seating arrangements and an examine will be passed out to you." said Ibiki with his chunin examiners already in motion.

Naruto just stared at the man and thought, 'A written test. Is he serious? I should have known better when Kakashi said it would be at the academy. I hate written tests!'

Getting a number, Naruto sat down next to a ninja he didn't know and Hinata. After a brief greeting, a test was placed face down in front of him and he looked forward to the chalk board that the head examiner was now standing at.

"Listen up so I can explain the rules of the test. There are ten questions and each is worth one point for a total of ten points. If you answer all of the questions correctly, you will keep your ten points. For every question you get wrong, one point will be subtracted.

This test is not individual but a team test. Failure for the team occurs when one teammate does not answer any of the questions correctly. If a person is caught cheating, two points will be deducted from their score for every instance." stated Ibiki and he motioned to the Konoha chunin's sitting in chairs against the one side of the classroom. Each had a clipboard and one of them said, "We'll be keeping a close eye on all of you."

"If you lose all of your points, you will be failed along with your teammates. The scoring will be based on the combined score of all three genin. The higher your score, the better chance your team has of moving on to the next exam. All of those pathetic ninja that need to cheat to pass this exam and get caught, will be destroying their team's chances of progressing to the next exam." and he paused for a brief moment to let that sink in before finishing, "You will have one hour to complete the exam. There is no talking and you may not ask any questions. Begin!" finished Ibiki and all of the students flipped over their tests.

Naruto took a moment to browse the questions and figured out one thing, 'I can't answer any of these.' Looking around he tried to figure out who did have the answers that he needed. Shakky had always taught him that if he didn't have the answer, he could either make them up, quite, or steal the answers. Once he found a person in his area that was working on the test and seemed to have the answer, he thought through his list of techniques to figure out which he could use to get at least a few answers.

Most of his methods of information gathering revolved around infiltration but those wouldn't work in a situation like this. The kid was a row ahead of him and sitting diagonally from his own seat. A moment later he smiled as he figured out one way a technique he knew could be used to cheat in this situation. It was not something that he had ever tried before but he had a feeling that it would work.

Picking up his pencil with one hand, he concentrated his chakra into his other hand, which was hidden under the table, and a thin chakra string started meandering away from his hand. It traveled to the floor and to the feet of the person next to him and then moved across the gap between the desks and to the next row. If any of the examiners did manage to see it, which he doubted, they would think it originated from the ninja sitting next to him. The string traveled up to the chair of the person he had found earlier and once in position, Naruto limited the amount of chakra he was using to make sure that the target wouldn't notice. Once he had limited it as much as he could, the string connected with the elbow of the ninja he was after.

Concentrating on his hand, a second chakra string came out of another finger and attached to the elbow of his opposite arm. After concentrating for a brief moment, his arm with the pencil in it started making the same motions as the ninja whose arm his other chakra string was attached to. Adjusting his possessed arm to the paper, he started finishing up the answer to the first question. He didn't have any of the work before that but had picked up where the other ninja was currently writing.

Naruto didn't look at any of the examiners and kept his chakra string hand underneath the table so that no one could see the string. He just blankly stared ahead as he really didn't want to look at the problems on his paper. It didn't seem that the ninja he was copying off of had discovered the intrusion of chakra into his body so Naruto continued to get the answers.

x-x

Time passed and Naruto found himself getting bored. The examiner said he only needed to get one answer correct and he currently had three written down, but he wasn't sure if there was a cutoff for the combined points so he continued. His eyes closed as he yawned but his hand continued writing at the same paces. He then leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling while his arm continued to work for him.

Sitting several rows back, Sakura looked up from her paper again at her teammate. It was obvious to her that Naruto couldn't answer any of the questions on his own, it was likely that even Sasuke couldn't answer them on his own but she knew that the Uchiha was smart enough to find a way to cheat and not get caught. She just wondered whether Naruto had figured out the real meaning of the exam. From what she did know about Naruto, he was good at not getting caught. Out of all three genin teams, he was the only person to get a bell and no one even knew how he did it besides the teacher that he stole it from.

It was likely that she didn't have much to worry about but as Naruto leaned back and stared at the ceiling, she twitched and nearly broker her pencil. 'He's not even looking at his paper! He better not be drawing on his test!' she raged and Inner Sakura agreed with her. It didn't make any sense how he could be so relaxed and oblivious yet still be answering the questions.

x-x

Throwing a kunai and barking out numbers again, Ibiki failed another genin team for getting caught too many times cheating. He made sure the kunai skimmed the Uzumaki boy's head before imbedding into the desk of the failed genin several rows back.

Naruto's head stopped its focus on the ceiling to stare at him and their eyes met for a brief moment. The boy eye-smiled at him and then went back to looking at the ceiling. Most likely counting the ceiling tiles. Ibiki's eyes narrowed as he focused on the boy to figure out what method was being used to cheat.

Even if he found out, he could only deduct two points from the boy's score but he wanted to know what was being used. He had already focused on the calmest person in the room which was the boy from Suna and saw the boy not trying to hide the use of a sand technique to spy on a nearby person's test but this was more difficult. 'His arm's moving but he's not paying attention to it.' Ibiki noted as the strangest part of the scene. Instead of being calm like the Suna boy, Naruto seemed bored.

Ibiki's mind went through a list of the techniques that he knew to figure out what the boy might be using. Every possibility he thought of was pushed aside as nothing that he currently knew of could do what he was seeing. 'He must be modifying a known technique or perhaps Kakashi taught his students something to get past this stage.' he thought and looked to the other students of that genin team. The Uchiha was blatantly using his Sharingan while the kunoichi of the team was answering her questions by herself.

Looking around nearby Naruto, Ibiki matched the movements of Naruto's hand to the movements of one of the chunin that were randomly placed in the crowd so that the genin would have someone to get answers from. The only problem now was that he still didn't know how the boy was doing it. Looking toward his line of chunin, he used a few handsigns to contact the chunin that was monitoring Naruto's row to ask how many points had been deducted from the boy. The chunin responded in code that he had yet to deduct any.

Since the chunin was likely watching and observing longer than he was, Ibiki thought perhaps his chunin had figured something out. It was obvious to him now that the boy was somehow copying the movements of the planted chunin but how? It was incredibly similar to what the Uchiha was doing with his sharingan but Naruto wasn't even paying attention to the person he was copying from and didn't have a dojutsu. It was also unlikely that anyone else was helping him as the only technique he could think of which would do something similar was the Nara shadow mimic but only Naruto's arm was mimicking the chunin.

It was at that moment that he realized that he was being stared at by the boy. The arm had also stopped writing and they stared at each other. 'He knows I'm catching on.' Ibiki thought and watched the boy flip his test over and lay his head down to go to sleep. The chunin plant was however still working on his test.

'So he quite before I could keep trying to figure out what he was doing.' and he gave a very short chuckle at the brat that was trying to fall asleep. 'He only really needs to get one question right to pass because I was lying about the points needing to be high enough. He he might have quite while he was ahead, but he has no idea about the tenth question.' mused Ibiki and would wait for the forty-five minute mark before giving out the rules for that question.

x-x

Naruto woke up ten or more minutes later and found that there was still nearly twenty minutes to finish the exam. The final question would be asked in a few minutes. He thought about getting more answers but didn't really want to. As long as one of the four answers that he had was right, he would pass since he doubted anyone could prove how he cheated.

Getting bored again, he looked around the room to find that the majority of teams were still there. He knew their were fifty one teams in the room to start with and probably around forty or more were still there. Sasuke had seen to it that many teams were able to get by Izumo and Kotetsu's trick and it was likely that they would be stuck with many other teams during the next exam, which he knew was in the Forest of Death and was a free-for-all match.

The fewer the teams were in the forest, the better it would be because their wouldn't be a preliminary round before the third exam. He wasn't that worried about the forest or a preliminary round but all he needed to do was make it to the finals to get promoted to chunin and then he would be off of Team Seven. 'The faster I do that, the better.' he thought and started figuring out what he could do limit the number of participants.

If the next exam allowed killing than it was possible that he would be doing the people he failed a favor, at least that was what he told himself. Also, the fact that a question was left out meant that there was something special about it and that left the possibility that he might not be able to pass, even if all four of his answers were correct. The instructor had also mentioned that the team needed as high a score as possible.

'If I can't pass with the test, then I'll make sure that I have to be passed. They can't have a chunin exam with out any finalists, can they? That would make the village look bad.' he thought with a smile. The exams were a big deal and he wondered if there had ever been an exam when no participants made it to the final round. He thought it was very unlikely.

Going over what the the examiner had said, there weren't many options to get enough participants thrown out. The best one was that they needed permission from man at the front of the class in order to fight, 'So I just have to cause a fight.' he surmised and felt around the room to find where his teammates were sitting.

He would have to start a fight away from them in order to make sure neither got involved. He did find a good area of the room near a grass ninja that was sitting by an Ame ninja and a Konoha ninja that he didn't know. Using his chakra strings, Naruto sent them across the floor to the other side of the room and prepared to attach them to several of the ninja there.

Channeling chakra to his throat, Naruto prepared to project his voice to the other side of the room.

x-x

"Hey, quit looking at my paper you cheating bastard!" said a voice that came from one side of the room and everyone's eyes came up off their papers to see what was going on. A ninja from Ame looked beside him at a ninja from Grass and both were confused. It sounded like one them had yelled at each other but neither was sure what was going on.

"Why would I cheat off a pathetic ninja like you!" came another voice and before Ibiki could act, the Ame ninja moved with no control over his body and hit the Grass ninja. The hit wasn't very hard but did what it was supposed to do, which was to cause the Grass ninja to tackle the ninja that hit him. The two ninja pushed into two other ninja sitting down the bench seat.

Several different things happened a moment later. The teammates of both ninja came to their friends aid but because of the random seating, they were on different sides of the room. While moving to either break up the fight or join in, other ninja from the same villages intervened which cause utter cause and only spread the fight. A Grass ninja tripped an Ame ninja while running across the desks and sent him sprawling into several other ninja from different villages.

In a few moments, a large portion of the room was fighting with each other and the noise was too much for Ibiki's voice to be heard. Seeing the problems, the chunin examiners got involved to stop the fight.

Sitting at his desk while fighting raged around him Naruto couldn't help but think one thing, 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.' and he moved his paper to the side as a ninja slid over the top of the desk and onto the floor in front of it. A few shuriken flew by but mostly people were just using their bare fists. One of the windows was broken when a desk was hurled into it but the desk was too large to go through it.

By the time it was all over, at least fifty people were injured but miraculously no one had died. All of the ninja that were fighting had been thrown out of the building by the chunin and Ibiki looked more pissed than ever. From what Naruto could feel, only sixteen teams were left and the rest were either outside of the academy or being taken to the hospital.

"Well I guess my plan did work after all." said Naruto and then he realized he had said it out loud. 'Oh shit!' he thought and before he could think anything else, an angry Ibiki was standing before his desk.

"And just what plan was that?" asked Ibiki while trying to hold in his rage but his killing intent was completely bearing down on the genin before him.

"Ahhh..." stated Naruto as he thought of something to say, "...my plan to sit perfectly still and not draw attention to myself until the test was over. Now it seems to have failed though." said Naruto with a straight face and looking directly into the eyes of Ibiki.

A cold gray stared into glowing blue and nothing was said for a brief moment before Ibiki countered, "Oh really?"

"Yes." was all Naruto said.

"So you didn't cause this entire fight?" questioned Ibiki as he learned closer and put both his fists on the desk in front of Naruto.

"Are you accusing me of something? I feel like maybe I should have a lawyer present." responded Naruto and Ibiki's eyes just narrowed at the boy's evasion of his question.

"You don't get a lawyer during an interrogation." Ibiki stated and he was dead set on bringing the boy to the interrogation department to find out how the boy had started the fight, which he was now confident was what had happened.

"Your violating my rights?" questioned Naruto in a surprised voice at the fact that he wasn't going to be allowed a lawyer and he could feel the desk groan and splinter slightly under the pressure Ibiki was now pushing down on it.

"How would like to spend some alone time with me?" inquired Ibiki with his intimidating voice.

"I NEED AN ADULT!" Naruto yelled while putting on a show of being scared and looking around frantically.

It would just so happen, that at that moment, a ball of cloth flew through the air outside and broke through one of the still intact windows in the room.

Ibiki didn't turn around but glanced at the clock in the room and suppressed a groan. With all the commotion of the fight, the test was over. He didn't need to know that standing behind him with purple banner, complete with lettering, was Mitarashi Anko in her usual ninja outfit. This wasn't the first time it had happened and he knew it obviously wasn't going to be the last time either.

'Well that was an odd coincidence.' thought Naruto as he had felt the woman getting near but he never thought she would come in through the window. Glancing over at the wall, he noticed that they clock showed that the exam was over and smiled underneath his mask.

"Alright brats! My name is Mitarashi Anko and I'm the second examiner. Follow me to the next exam." she stated with authority. Looking around she nodded at the number that were left. "You only left fifteen teams this time, huh Ibiki? Not your best record but certainly not your worst." she commented while looking at her fellow examiner.

Walking up to the woman, Ibiki said in a low voice, "Anko, I haven't finished the test yet." and the woman twitched and then looked at the clock which showed her that the test was over.

"What do you mean you haven't finished?" she said in a hushed voice, "The exam is supposed to be over by now. You had one hour to reduce their numbers and it looks to me like you did it."

"There were some...complications." stated Ibiki while tightening his fist and glancing over at someone. Following his look, Anko and Naruto's eyes met and they both looked away a moment later. She also noticed the damage to the room. 'Yeah, this has the brat written all over it.' she thought and turned back to Ibiki,

"You had your allotted time and I didn't show up early this time. The second exam starts now because I don't want to have to wait and I already indirectly told them they passed." stated Anko in an annoyed whisper and Ibiki was forced to agree with her.

He was still angry though as he had his classic 'do or don't' speech about the risks and duty of a chunin all prepared and ready to be delivered. Cursing the fact that the exams had a schedule and that he knew it was never a good idea to make Anko wait for anything, he didn't say anything else as Anko took the genin to the next exam.

His eyes never left the brat that he knew had caused the fight until they boy was out of the room and then he went about collecting the exams.

x-x

While follow the new examiner, Hinata looked at the boy who had caused the fight. She had seen what he was doing during the exam because she had her Byakugan active for a portion of it in order to cheat. She was rather impressed that he had stood up to the examiner and not crumbled under the killing intent or gaze that made her want to leave the room. Then again, this was the same boy that had stood up for her against three older boys so it made sense that he would keep getting stronger and could stand up to such intimidating people.

She wasn't completely sure why he had started the fight though but was thankful as she was very worried about the exam and the final question. Her team was depending on her as they needed to pass as a team and she didn't want to let them down.

Catching up with her teammates, she wondered where Naruto had learned the techniques that he used. She had never seen them used before and was rather interested in the pure chakra technique and shape manipulation skills that he possessed.

Since the Suna mission, she had asked Kurenai about techniques such as what she he had seen. She never mentioned where she had seen it but asked whether there were chakra control exercises that involved spinning chakra. Kurenai didn't know but told her to ask the Hokage after the completed their next D-rank mission.

It had taken a lot of courage for her to ask the Hokage but she had and described what information she was after. The Hokage merely smiled at the time and told her of an obscure chakra technique called 'chakra spinning' and what it involved. With a slight smile, he informed her that it had never been proven if the technique was really useful and most believed it was just a myth or a lie told to obnoxious or hyper genin to keep them occupied.

She had thanked the Hokage and it was obvious to her, but not to those around her, that the Hokage had seen through her. The Sandaime had known exactly where she had seen the technique and told her everything she had wanted to know. The technique was useful and not a myth or a lie, but it was only useful to those that kept at it and didn't give up on when they didn't get any initial results. Which was likely what Naruto had done. It was exactly what she had wanted, something to strive for, and something that could help her.

She had contemplated asking for help or tips from Naruto on several occasions when she was having trouble but decided not to. She had no right to ask anything of him and this was something she could do on her own and would make her own. Instead of trying to tighten the spiral like she had seen Naruto do, she had done the opposite and pushed the spiral outward.

The training had helped her quite a bit with her jyuuken and she had started learning how to push chakra out through all of her tenketsu and not just the ones in her hands that were used by her clan for Jyuuken. She found herself using the technique during her free moments. Her goal was to learn to use all of her families jutsu and create her own and she believed the chakra spinning exercise could help her.

Looking at the boy one last time as the group moved to an unknown location, she smiled at the thought that he was still helping her, even if he didn't know it.

x-x

The Sandaime looked up from his paper work when he felt Naruto coming down his hallway to his office door. Considering that the first exam only finished a minute ago, it was possible that the boy had failed but he felt that it was unlikely.

Before any knock on the door occurred the Sandaime said, "Enter." and in Naruto walked. The boy calmly walked over and sat in the chair across from him. Even with a mask, the Sandaime could tell that they boy was not disappointed because of failure of the exam but had something to tell him. 'If he didn't fail then this must be a clone as he should be heading to the next exam with Anko.' he concluded and began the conversation, "What can I do for you, Naruto-kun?"

"The files in the ninja archives, who has access to them?" inquired Naruto.

The Sandaime thought for a moment and replied, "It depends on which kind of files. Jonin have access to a majority of the files there chunin have access to some and genin don't have access to any. Why do you ask?"

He wondered what the boy really wanted to know. The archives kept the majority of ninja files but not the classified ones that only he and the village elders had access to and then there were the files that only he had access to. 'Does he want to see his own file?' thought the Hokage but waited to hear the boy's reasoning for the question.

"If I told you that a Konoha genin might have information on the names, achieved missions, and abilities of ninja participating in the chunin exams, what would be your response?" questioned Naruto.

The Hokage frowned as he thought about it. While certain information could have been acquired about ninja during the exam based on observations, it had only just started but some ninja were taking it for the second time. "What genin did this person have information on?" questioned the Hokage seriously and the clone responded, "Rock Lee of Konoha and some limited information about mission concerning a Suna genin."

That raised an alarm in the Sandaime's mind as Rock Lee was competing for the first time and information such as that should not be known by anyone that was a genin. Looking back to Naruto he asked, "Just who was it that had this information?"

"An older genin, Yakushi Kabuto." stated the clone.

"I want you to look into this Kabuto and find out anything more that you can during the second part of the exam. Don't fight him but if you think he is up to something else, I give you permission to apprehend him for 'Suspicious Activities'." ordered the Hokage.

That law allowed the Hokage to detain an active or inactive ninja of the village, for a given period of time, under suspicion of espionage. The period could be up to a week and they could be questioned in anyway that the Hokage saw fit. The Hokage was allowed to use this power but he had to provide his reasoning to the ninja council as he couldn't just detain anyone, whenever he wanted, and without some justification.

Naruto dispelled in smoke, confirming the Hokage's thoughts that the boy was a shadow clone and the Hokage called his secretary on the intercom to request Morino Ibiki, Yamanaka Inoichi, and the files on Yakushi Kabuto.

x-x

Coming to the test that he knew belonged to Uzumaki Naruto, Ibiki picked it up and expected to see a few answers written down but that was not the case. He found nine answers on the sheet of paper. Confused, he looked to the name and found that it can been scribbled out and 'Uzumaki Naruto' had been written right next to that. He huffed in irritation and looked through the stack of papers that he had already collected.

Sure enough, one of the papers in the previous row had the name crossed off and instead was written, 'Some guy who knew the answers.' He shook his head slightly as he thought of what must have happened, 'During the commotion he switched his test with the person he had been copying off of earlier. Damn brat!'

In all the years he had been running the first part of the exam, no one had ever started a fight to pass and eliminate the competitors. They had tried to get other people caught for cheating or thrown out, but no one had ever started a fight that escalated into a brawl that eliminated over twenty teams. He couldn't remember that having ever have happened before.

He remembered one foolish genin try to fight the chunin examiners after declaring that he wasn't cheating and couldn't possibly have failed. There were other small disagreements too but nothing like what just happened.

Ibiki was brought out of his musing when a chunin appeared in the room, "Ibiki-san, the Hokage has requested you at his office."

Tossing the stack of papers at the chunin and telling him that he could collect the rest of the them, Ibiki jumped out the already broken window and headed for the Hokage's office.

x-x

Cleaning the bloodied sword on a piece of clothing he had torn from one of the dead ninja, the Grass ninja raised the legendary sword and slid it down his throat. His plans had been hampered by the fact that one of his 'teammates' had managed to get the team thrown out for fighting. Rectifying the situation, he took both other their heads in anger.

He and two of his sound ninja had taken the faces of a team of Grass ninja and were infiltrating the exams to complete his goals. He would have likely killed the other two anyway but they had angered him and ruined his perfectly crafted plan.

'It looks like I'll just have to sneak into the Forest of Death the old fashioned way.' he thought and chuckled, "Kukukukuku." while heading to the isolated training ground.

Please Review

AN: I didn't really want anyone to think that Hinata was copying off of Naruto so she will be using the same technique but it will be different and help her with her clan techniques and her original techniques. If people think that it is stealing, well that just isn't true as the chakra spinning technique is known by many people. Even jiraiya mentioned it during the search for Tsunade arc but in my story only a few people know that it really does something.

I will try to explain Naruto and Anko in the next chapter


	22. Chapter 22

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

AN: Poll results

The winner of the poll was no preliminary rounds - 62 votes

Completely different from canon - 46 votes

Similar to canon - 28 votes

Same as canon - 6 votes

x-x

Chapter XXII: Stranger things haven't happened in the Forest of Death

x-x

Ibiki and Inoichi entered the office of the Sandaime and stood in front of the desk. The Sandaime waited a brief moment before speaking, "I've brought you here because of a participant in the chunin exams."

The trio was then interrupted when the secretary came in with the requested file. After handing it to the Sandiame, she quickly left the room. "As I was saying, it has been brought to my attention that a genin in the chunin exams has collected information on both Konoha and foreign genin currently participating in the exams. The genin in question is from Konoha, Yakushi Kabuto, and he apparently has over a hundred cards with abilities and mission information on the genin in the exam." stated the Hokage and both men in front of him absorbed his words and followed his train of thought.

"I have a witness that says he overheard information being given by Yakushi-san on a Konoha genin that is taking the exam for the first time. The information included successful mission as well as a ranking of personal abilities. It is very unlikely that this information was acquired through legitimate means." said the Sandaime and both men knew what that meant.

"You think he stole the information from the archives?" inquired Inoichi and the Sandiame nodded while adding, "Unless his jonin sensei was providing it for him, it is likely that the information was obtained illegally from the files of our archives as well as the mission completion files that were sent along with the foreign genin participants."

"What do we know from his records?" asked Ibiki.

The Sandaime opened the file and looked through the information on Kabuto. He frowned as he came across several items that jumped out at him. Passing the file over to Ibiki, the tall man went through it, "Failed the academy twice but passed on his third time. Taken the chunin exams six times and never made it to the finals but forfeited after the second exam." he noted out loud and Inoichi added, "Six times? Why was he even allowed to take it that many or nominated for a seventh?"

"You have to be chunin in rank to get into the medical-nin division and his father is the head of the division." answered the Sandaime and Ibiki added, "It seems his teammates took the exams at least that many times as well, maybe more given that they are older than him by at least three years."

"What do you want to do about it?" inquired Ibiki.

"Inoichi, look into any other information we have on Kabuto and his sensei. Ibiki, I already have someone in the exams who will try and keep tabs on Kabuto and if he finds out anything else incriminating, he has the authority to arrest Kabuto. Regardless of what happens, I want a squad of ANBU and you yourself waiting to apprehend him at the tower. In the mean time, I want you Inoichi to question his jonin sensei and see if you can find out anything else." ordered the Sandaime and both men nodded and went on their way.

Leaving the room, both men wondered just who the Sandaime was using to look into Kabuto. It had to be one of the participants but they didn't know which one.

x-x

"Listen up brats, the area behind me is training ground forty-four, otherwise known as the Forest of Death and is where the second exam will take place. It will..." but the sound of her voice was lost on Naruto as he examined the forest.

He had a very disconcerting feeling that he was being watched from someone or something in the forest. He'd never had this feeling before when he was near or in the forest and he wondered what was causing it. 'It better not be those tigers.' he thought and didn't stop the kunai that whizzed by his face and cut his cheek.

He knew from experience that it would be worse if he dodged it so he let it go. Anko appeared behind him a moment later and he took his focus off the forest and put it all on her, which was also something he learned from experience.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here brat after what you did." she said and licked his cheek.

"Mmm...you've aged like a fine wine since the last time I sampled." she noted out loud and Naruto sweat-dropped as did many others. 'That's just creepy, Anko.' he said in his head, which was again something that he had learned to do from experience being around her. Saying something like that out loud would only egg her on.

"I'm taking the chunin exams, I can't really not show up and still take the exam." stated Naruto and Anko twitched slightly but shot back, "You just left and didn't write or anything."

"I sent you all those scratch off lottery tickets for your birthday." countered Naruto.

"Those were already scratched off and it was only one birthday. Where's the fun in that?" demanded Anko and Naruto replied, "They were all winners."

"Its not like you sent me anything." he said but it was only halfhearted and he really didn't put any emphasis behind it.

"I didn't even know where exactly you went." she stated and Naruto knew she was right but Anko didn't really feel very good winning the argument. Most people had no idea where the Fire Temple was and it wasn't something that appeared on a map. Only a select few people in the village knew its location.

"Um...are we going to start the exam now..." inquired a genin but he was cut off by a kunai that cut his cheek and Anko asked, "Anyone else want to interrupt?" and Naruto only wished that they did.

"Now where were we?" she asked Naruto as she leaned down with her head next to his.

"We were at the part where neither of us took the initiative to correspond with the other because of different reasons and then we each sort of went our separate ways." stated Naruto in a sad voice and Anko sighed. Neither of them liked to deal with such things or be so sad and glum about it.

They were really friends by association because of Rayleigh or at least that was how the friendship started out. Naruto knew Rayleigh and Anko knew Rayleigh and they met each other through Rayleigh. The problem was that when that person was gone, it was hard to deal with the loss and both were so stubborn that they didn't want to admit anything to each other.

Even now, neither wanted to apologize to the other. They didn't want to admit the fact that they had been friends and not just friends by association. The biggest connection they had to one another had died and it was difficult to deal with because he meant so much to both of them and in different ways. Every time they thought about the friendship, they had to remember the loss and it hurt for both of them.

Naruto had gone to the Fire Temple and found a friend his own age. Anko had also managed to open up to a few fellow kunoichi in the village and made friends. They both basically went their separate ways and neither wanted to discuss it. Naruto also didn't want to hurt Anko because he planned to leave the village and becoming friends with her would only make her feel like he abandoned her once he left.

It was a difficult situation between two alike and stubborn people and they really didn't have a good solution to fix it. They were both silent for a while before Anko released him from her grip and went back to informing the genin of the rules for the exam.

x-x

"What was that about with the proctor, dobe?" asked Sasuke as they waited in line for the their scroll and Sakura was also a listening in.

"None of your damn business." replied Naruto seriously and they moved forward another spot in line. Sasuke snorted and silence reigned between the members of the group.

When they finally got to the front, they handed in their forms and were handed the scroll.

"If you reach for that scroll, I'll cut your hand off." stated Naruto and Sasuke, who had already started reaching, faltered and Naruto took the scroll from the chunin and then put it in his pouch.

Walking out of the small pavilion, Sasuke caught up with Naruto and grabbed his arm, "Who put you in charge," he demanded in a hushed voice and Naruto shrugged off Sasuke's grip and replied, "Kakashi did, right before the first exam."

"No he didn't." argued Sasuke.

'Did he only tell me about the decision and forget to tell them?' Naruto thought and then said, "Well he told me that I was the team leader. If he didn't remember to tell you, that's not my problem." and with that Naruto went to the designated gate to wait for the exam to behind. His teammates reluctantly followed behind him and likely wondered why he was so agitated.

x-x

While the rest of the genin were getting their scrolls, certain members were looking over the other groups to determine who they should go after and what kind of competition there was.

"Your staring again." said Neji and Tenten turned to him with a pout, "Yeah, but he has three swords."

"So? They don't even look like swords, more like knives." stated Neji as he looked through the other fourteen teams on the field of grass.

"So? I just wonder what he can do with them and how he uses them. They definitely aren't knives but I don't understand how they can be that short. Look at them with your Byakugan." ordered Tenten as she tried to figure out the mystery that was the masked boy. He hadn't been with his team in the academy when they first met with the other members so she was only just noticing what he was carrying.

"No. I have better things to do than satisfy your curiosity." replied Neji with a scowl and Lee offered to and check but was stopped by both his teammates.

Not too far away, Team Ten was also looking at the gathered crowd. Shikamaru was worried about the exam and the only way he knew they could pass was if they took a scroll from one of the rookie teams. The other participants looked to be too experienced for them and he knew exactly which team to take the scroll from.

Team Seven was the obvious choice as they had the worst teamwork. The mission to Hot Springs only proved that as Naruto and Sasuke were bickering the whole way back. Asuma had told them about the poisoning and the fact that they villagers were being blackmailed by former ninja and bandits. He told them that Kakashi had taken care of the former ninja and he had seen the skills of Sasuke and Sakura when they fought the bandits. Sakura wasn't really a threat. Naruto seemed to be able to get injured very easily and considering he was the dead-last in the academy, that left Sasuke as the only threat.

He decided to keep his thoughts to himself at the moment because if he approached Ino on the subject, she would likely disagree with attacking Sasuke and might alert other groups with her loud voice as to what they were planning.

A dozen feet or more away from Team Ten was Team Eight. They were also planning what to do. Kiba had suggested going after Team Seven but it was Hinata that spoke up against that, stating that they wouldn't be able to defeat Naruto.

Kiba looked at her confused but Shino seemed to understand what she was getting at. He had noted that Uzumaki Naruto was far more than he appeared and judging by what Hinata had told them really happened when they were younger, a five year old Naruto beat up three six year old bullies with nearly a year of academy training and he did so with no injury and without much difficult. If those skills at that age had increased at the same rate as theirs, then it was likely Uzumaki Naruto was the strongest member on Team Seven and possible the strongest of the rookie teams. This was only compounded by the fact that his insects told him that the boy's chakra was higher than anyone they had ever encountered.

The boy was still a mystery to him and so was what had happened in Wind country, but he knew Hinata was right. Unless they managed to surprise the team, they did not stand a chance against Team Seven. Instead, they would try for a different team or perhaps Team Ten. His plan was agreed upon by Kiba when they found out that Team Seven got the same scroll as they did, so it was pointless to attack them anyway.

x-x

Standing at the gate to the Forest of Death and waiting for the signal, Naruto again had the feeling that he was being watched. He could tell it wasn't the bun haired girl that kept staring at his swords and it was definitely coming from the forest, but he couldn't tell if he was the focus or not.

Out of the three of them, it was the most likely that if someone was watching, then they were either looking at him or Sasuke. The only person that watched and was interested in Sakura was the kid in the green suite with the bowl-cut and huge eyebrows.

There was one way to tell but he decided to wait until they were inside the forest, plus he didn't have to go the bathroom right now.

x-x

"DON'T DO THAT HERE! GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!" shouted Sakura and Naruto moved deeper into the forest to go to the bathroom.

They had spent about thirty minutes moving through the forest after the signal was given to start the exams. They had only just stopped to make up some kind of plan. Despite not being in charge, Sasuke wanted to split up and start going after teams. Before getting into an argument, he had gone to the bushes to go to the bathroom and was promptly told by Sakura to go somewhere else.

That was actually part of his plan as he could still sense someone watching them but still couldn't tell where they were. His chakra sensing wasn't helping him but it was likely due to his ability to sense Haki that he was aware that they were being watched.

Not being able to locate the person that had been following them was frustrating but moving himself away from the group would give him an idea of who was being watched.

As he went farther into the forest, whatever he had been sensing before had stopped. 'So whoever it is must be after Sasuke.' he thought and pulled down his fly.

The real question now was who it was and what did they want with Sasuke. 'They were in the forest before any of the other teams entered so it isn't an exam participant and they're very good at suppressing their chakra and staying hidden.' he noted and saw that his necklace was glowing. His eyes then widened at what he sensed.

"I know your there, you might as well come out." stated Naruto.

Seven giant tigers emerged from their hiding places and surrounded Naruto. Looking with some annoyance at them he said, "I've been in the forest for what, thirty minutes, and you guys already found me. Not to mention you still hold a grudge, seriously what's that about?" he questioned but the tigers just growled and started moving toward him and tightening the circle around him.

Naruto sweat-dropped as it seemed diplomacy was again out of the question with the striped cats.

'Sigh'.."Can you at least wait until I'm done going to the bathroom before we go through the

usual routine? Common courtesy and such." he said but they continued to inch forward,

"Do I bother any of you when you're trying to piss!" he questioned and the tigers finally halted their approach while Naruto finished.

Pulling up his fly, he said, "Alright, lets get this over with." and quickly took off at the nearest tiger. He jumped and used its head as a platform to jump higher and into the large trees. The tigers quickly changed direction and perused their ever elusive prey.

x-x

"Where the hell is that idiot! How long does it take to go to the bathroom?" Sakura questioned as she and Sasuke waited for their teammate to return.

x-x

Quickly veering off his original course, Naruto dodged two more tigers that had joined the pursuit. They seemed a little smaller than the others and he laughed at the fact that it appeared the next generation of tigers were hunting him as well.

Sensing up ahead, he cursed as he realized that who it was that he could sense in front of him. He tried to change the direction of the pursuit but the tigers were trying to come at him from the sides and he didn't want to let the chakra signatures of his teammates get out of his range. It was also likely that the person up ahead had already noticed him.

x-x

Stopping in his tracks, Gaara looked in the direction of the coming foe. He had hoped they would meet in the forest and now apparently the boy had sought him out for a fight. His lips formed a malicious smile as his siblings looked questioningly at him.

He had placed some of his special tracking sand in the creases on the boy's clothing and now he could feel that sand heading straight for him. Turning to face the new opponent, he only had to wait a few moments for his arrival.

Naruto flew out of the trees and landed in front of the sand siblings. Looking up he waved at them.

"You again!" Temari said and Naruto replied, "Hey Yonbi-chan." which made her twitch at the reference to her ponytails. She pulled out her fan and Kankuro pulled off his wrapped package. Gaara merely smiled but it faded slightly when they all felt the ground start to rumble.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and said, "I brought some friends."

No sooner had he finished the sentence and multiple gigantic tigers came barreling out of the same forest he had a few moments ago.

"Holy..." was all Kankuro managed to get out before he dropped to the ground and curled up the fetal position. Temari jumped behind Gaara for safety and sand poured out of Gaara's gourd to form a protective barrier for himself.

Using the distraction, Naruto barely escaped the swing of a clawed paw and ran away from the sand siblings. The tigers were stalled slightly by the sand but continued pursuit a few moments later.

Once they were gone, Temari peeked out from behind her youngest brother. Looking over she asked, "Kankuro, are you alive?"

Searching his body all over, Kankuro sighed in relief and said, "Yeah I'm..." but then his eyes caught sight of something horrible.

"CROW!" he yelled out and went to his fallen comrade. They had been separated during the stampede and it seemed that Crow wasn't as lucky as he was.

"Oh Kami, look what they did to you! Its okay. Its gonna be okay. Your gonna be fine." he comforted his wounded partner and then yelled, "I NEED A MEDIC-NIN!"

"Kankuro, its just a puppet." Temari reminded her brother while shaking her head.

"I NEED A PUPPETEER!" Kankuro revised his statement as he held his dying friend in his arms.

"Idiot, you are a puppeteer!" shouted Temari and she contemplated hitting him with her fan.

'Oh, yeah.' "Hang on buddy!" said Kankuro and he pulled out his tools to get to work.

Temari face-palmed and wondered what was wrong with him while Kankuro desperately tried to keep his inanimate puppet alive. Even if it was completely smashed by the tigers, it could be repaired later and she knew his attachment to that puppet and all of his puppets was less than healthy.

Gaara merely ignored the idiocy of his siblings and looked at the direction the tigers and the boy had ran off into. He really thought they were finally going to fight.

Turning around he looked unimpressed at the three Ame ninja that had shown up. They would have to do and for the mean time his mothers thirst for blood would be sated.

x-x

Naruto kept running but he made sure to keep his teammates within his range. The last thing he wanted was to get separated from them again, as they would likely get lost and make it difficult for him to find them again.

He had been searching for a good enough open area to use and until that point, he hadn't come across one that was big enough for all of the tigers to fit in it. It had taken several minutes from the time he ran into the Suna ninja to find such a place.

Jumping down to the ground, he ran to the roots and trunk of the large tree. He made it seem like he had been trapped and all the tigers jumped to the ground behind him. They quickly encircled him to make sure he couldn't get away and moved in for the long awaited kill.

Waiting for the right moment before they started charging, he closed his eyes and tried to pull forth the power that he needed. Right when the tigers started to run at him, his eyes opened and the surrounding area pulsed from a wave emanating from him. The charging tigers could not contend with the Haki and stopped in their tracks before collapsing in front of him.

Looking around he saw that he had managed to get all of them with the attack. He smiled at the success as it seemed he was getting better and better with pulling forth and releasing his Haki. He just needed to work on pulling it forth faster and focusing it. Then he would finally have master what Rayleigh spent so long teaching him.

Focusing on his sensing he found his teammates but stopped for a second as he felt someone else. The chakra signature reminded him of the one that he briefly felt in Wind Country while traveling back from the completed mission. 'Has that person been keeping tabs on Sasuke since then?' he wondered and jumped into the trees.

He sped back to his teammates as fast as he could. The chakra signature he felt was easily higher than that of Kakashi and the Sandaime and he could tell that the person it belonged to was extremely dangerous.

x-x

Garnering the attention of his teammates, Uzumaki Naruto emerged from the forest and walked back to his teammate. "Sorry I took so long, I really had to go." he stated while scratching the back of his head.

While Sakura was busy berating the boy as he neared, Sasuke was preparing to attack. Waiting until the boy was standing right in front of him, Sasuke's fist lashed out but 'Naruto' quickly evaded the punch.

"What the hell, Sasuke?" asked Naruto while Sakura stood shocked, Sasuke replied, "Whoever you are, you can drop the disguise and tell us where our real teammate is."

The fake Naruto's head dropped slightly and started chuckling, "Kukukuku, you saw right through my disguise."

Catching on, Sakura realized what was happening because the voice was completely off and she watched as 'Naruto' went up in smoke. A grass ninja was revealed but she realized that the person before them was not a particpant of the second exam.

"Who are you? You weren't a part of the participants in this exam." she stated but the grass ninja just laughed and continued to look directly at Sasuke.

'I wonder what was wrong with my disguise?' he wondered as the boy's sharingan wasn't active so it must have been his henge or his acting that had tipped the Uchiha off. Regardless of the reason, with his ruse revealed, he saw no point in holding back and stopped suppressing his chakra.

"Since I'm not here for a scroll, we should just begin the fight. Just remember, your lives are on the line." and with said, the grass shinobi smiled and moved his hand to his eye and pulled down slightly on skin on his cheek.

The tactic was to get the attention of the two in front of him and have them focus on his eye. A moment later a huge amount of killing intent washed over Sakura and Sasuke.

x-x

Naruto was instantly aware of the released chakra and killing intent, despite him still being quite a good distance away from the area where his teammates were.

Distracted and focusing by the foe ahead of him, he wasn't unprepared for the attack of the additional foe hiding near him.

He detected the attack right as it was happened and was unable to dodge it. For some reason his Haki wasn't working nearly as fast as it used to. Without good enough warning that it was coming he couldn't use his geppou fast enough to evade it while he was in midair and jumping between the branches of the large trees. He was barely able to turn his head and glance over his shoulder at the speeding mouth of a gigantic snake that was already striking at him.

'Damn.' he thought as the jaws snapped over him and he was eaten by the gigantic snake.

x-x

'Is this a genjutsu?' Sasuke thought after he had vomited on the ground, but he found no problems with his chakra. This is just his pure killing intent, directed through his eyes.

He had never encountered even half of the killing intent that was radiating off the ninja in front of him. 'Who is this guy?' he wondered and his eyes looked over to see that Sakura was in even worse shape than him.

Both of them were kneeling down in front of the grass ninja and both were unable to move. They had each just witnessed their deaths at the hands of the ninja in front of them and could only stare forward and watch as the man removed two kunai from his pouch. Those same two kunai had been thrown at them and killed them in the illusion they experienced and it was therefore obvious what was coming next.

x-x

Squished in the throat of the snake, Naruto cursed his current condition. 'How the hell did this happen? I didn't even sense this bastard and my color of observation didn't warn me until it was too late. What's going on?' the frustrated boy wondered and tried to think up a method for escaping. It smelled horribly bad, he didn't have enough room to get his swords out and maneuver. He also didn't want to get his swords out and have them smell like his current surroundings for the remaining time he used them.

'Here's a little present for you, you stupid bastard! Your remains will teach the rest of the snakes in the forest not to try and eat me again.' he thought and jammed a chakra infused kunai into the flesh of the throat. The handle had four explosive notes attached to it and once he was out, he would detonate them.

'I didn't even know snakes in the forest got this big.' he idly wondered but pushed it to the back of his mind in favor of getting out of his current situation.

He felt the snake start thrashing at the pain and he thought, 'If that hurt, then what he had planned next would make it wish it never swallowed me.'

His hand ignited with wind chakra as he used ketatamashii to start cutting his way out. There was no way that he was going to crawl back up its throat to get out of its mouth and the method he was employing was the best and most efficient means he could think of to get himself out. The jutsu that he had were out of the question because of the confined space and nothing he could think of in his other repertoire of technique was going to help him out of this, especially since he didn't want to use his swords and get them filthy.

x-x

The seventy meter long snake had just finished the task its summoner gave to it and was about to settle down and let its meal digest when it felt a small stabbing pain in its body. It thrashed a little to get its newest meal to help push it into its stomach but it was not prepared for the shooting pain that went through its side a moment later.

The snake screeched as it felt agony and knew that the meal was being much more difficult than it originally thought. Thrashing about more and more, it smacked itself into a nearby tree and tried to injure or disorient the meal but nothing seemed to be working and the pain only increased.

Frustrated at its lack of success, in shooting pain because of its newest meal, and worried over further injury to its body, the snake decided to take a different course of action. There was no reason to stay in the forest because its job was already finished, and so it unsummoned itself to go back to the rest of its fellow snake summons in order to get help.

The snake was engulfed in a large cloud of smoke a moment later, and once the smoke cleared, the snake was gone and that particular area of the forest was quiet.

x-x

Running through the forest, Sasuke eventually stopped and set Sakura against a tree. His leg was throbbing with pain from where he had stabbed it to break the killing intent's hold over him to get away. He still didn't know where Naruto was or who was after them but he knew the best to get away and hide or run as far as possible. Whoever the person was, they weren't supposed to be in the exam at all and he could tell they were incredibly strong. He needed to survive in order to face his brother later on.

Sakura started to say something but he put his hand over her mouth to keep her from talking. Trying to look in the direction they had just come from, he looked for any sign of the man they were running from. His attention was brought back to Sakura as he could tel she was trying to say something but his hand was stopping her. He quickly saw where she was looking and the both jumped away from the snake as it tried to eat them.

The snake ignored Sakura and went straight at Sasuke who unleashed a volley of kunai and shuriken into its open mouth.

He landed on a branch and was about to say something to Sakura when he heard that same laughing coming from the now dead snake.

"Kukukukuku." and their was brief break before the man started coming out of the side of the snake, as if he had been merged with it.

"You shouldn't take a break to catch your breath. When your running from me, there is no rest." and with that the man started coiling around the trunk of the tree Sasuke landed on.

x-x

A plume of smoke erupted inside a dark cavernous area. Once the smoke dissipated, a large snake was revealed and it started trying to hack up something. The pain it was going through hadn't subsided but it hoped that the travel through the transportation jutsu had disoriented the ninja inside its body enough so it could vomit it back out and then kill it before eating it again.

It thrashed more and more and knew that it would probably attract the attention of other snakes in the expansive den. It took a several minutes but its persistence was rewarded. Finally dislodging the ninja, the boy came out of its mouth along with a rock that hit the ground. Focusing on the ninja that was trying to get away, its body coiled and its tail lashed out and smacked the ninja into the wall of the cavern.

The tail moved away and the snake inspected the remains. Its eyes and smell detected nothing though and its forked tongue flicked out intermittently while it scanned the empty cavern.

x-x

While Anko was eating her afternoon dango, Kotetsu and Izumo were busy working. Of all the jobs they could have been assigned by Anko during the second exam, they never thought this would be one of them. After all, how often are chunin proctors made to shine the shin guards of the second examiner.

Polishing the pieces of metal, Izumo's head tilted slightly upwards to the skirt of the kunoichi whose right shin guard he was polishing and before he could see anything, his nose met with the point of a finished dango skewer.

"Get back to work. I want to see my face in those shin guards by the time your shift is over." an irritable Anko told them and both nodded with a, "Yes, Anko-sama."

Even though it was incredibly demeaning work, somehow it was still better than guarding one of the gates of the village and Kotetsu knew that this feeling was shared by Izumo

Finishing the last dango and throwing it at a nearby tree, Anko sighed as it just didn't seem to taste nearly as good as it should have.

"Um...if you don't mind us asking, what's got you so down, Anko-sama?" inquired Kotetsu and Anko merely looked down on him and said, "It's none of your damn business."

Before either chunin could say anything else, the conversation was ended with the arrival of another chunin examiners.

"Anko-sama, we've got a problem." stated the chunin and Anko looked at him while Izumo and Kotetsu stopped shining her shin guards.

"What is it?" inquired Anko with a bored tone as something minor always happened with the exams and because she was the current examiner, the responsibility fell to her to fix the problem.

"I-I don't really know how to explain. We found three bodies during our patrol and there is something wrong with their faces. Its something you'll have to see for yourself." responded the chunin and Anko raised an eyebrow at the statement.

x-x

"Kukukuku." laughed the disguised grass ninja as he pulled up his sleeve while cutting his thumb with his teeth. Blood was spread over the seal on the arm.

Sasuke had no idea what was going to happen but he had a very bad feeling about it. He was still having trouble moving his body and was scared stiff because of the opponent in front of him.

x-x

Naruto was about to undo his rock henge and attack the snake when it went up in a plume of smoke. Releasing his henge, he looked at the now empty cavern and cursed. He had been ready to take the snakes head off with a move he had been working on but now he would have to settle for his backup plan.

Putting his hands into the ram seal, he ignited the explosive tags that were still inside the giant snake. Wherever it went, it wouldn't be alive for long.

'It must have been a animal summoning.' he thought and the only people he knew that could summon snakes were Anko, to some degree, and Orochimaru of the Sannin. Anko may be crazy but she definitely wouldn't send a snake after him during the exams. That left the only other answer that he could think of but it created another question. Was Orochimaru the person he felt in Wind Country and just a little while ago in the exam?

The answer made sense but also didn't make sense. 'What would Orochimaru be doing in the exams and after Sasuke?' he questioned but put the thought aside as he remembered the situation at hand. Using his chakra sensor ability, he searched for the correct direction he had to go in to get back to his team and found nothing.

Well, he detected something but he didn't find what he was looking for. There were several large signatures that were on the edge of his range but they weren't coming in his direction and were staying put.

'Where the hell are Sasuke and Sakura and how did they manage to get lost again?' he wondered with some frustration. They were just in his range a moment ago. How far away could the snake have traveled after it swallowed him or did Sasuke and Sakura leave his range?

Putting his hands to the back of his head in his standard gesture he realized that his bandana and forehead protector was missing. He scratched the back of his spiky red haired head as he tried to figure out the situation. It was then that he noticed the smell and the dampness on his clothes, 'I'm covered in snake juice, ewww.' he thought and tried to get it out of his clothes but it was no use. He had partially been digested and the smell would likely stay with him for a couple of days unless he found a place to wash off in.

Giving a good look around the cave for the first time he noted the size of it and was rather impressed. He had no idea that caves this big were under the Forest of Death.

x-x

A giant snake appeared beneath the man as he loomed in front of him. Sasuke was again frozen in fear as he stared at the man and giant snake in front of him. He knew if he faced this opponent he would die, that much was obvious to him. Running away wasn't really an option as the man could likely follow him wherever he went. Questions kept running through his head. Who was this person? Was he going to die? Were was Sakura and Naruto? They had gotten separated and it was possible that Naruto was dead and had been killed by the ninja in front of him. That thought just made the situation even worse.

The grass ninja said something but he didn't hear it. The snake reared back and when it was about to move in for the kill, it exploded.

The explosion was huge and he lost sight of the grass ninja. Most of the snakes head was separated from its body and he was covered with blood and chunks of snake. Stunned it took a few seconds before he started examining himself and to make sure he wasn't injured. Looking down he frowned at the mess until he spotted something else.

He recognized it instantly as the Konoha forehead protector and saw the bandana that it was attached to. It was sitting on the branch near his left foot.

Staring at the object he knew exactly who it belonged to. He moved slowly and picked up the object, examined it for a moment, and then put it in his pocket of his shorts.

Searching the area, he found the grass ninja. The man had stuck to the side of the trunk of a nearby tree after being blown off the snake.

His sharingan came to life and he saw that the man was favoring one leg over the other. They looked at each other and Sasuke made a choice. His opponent had been injured and the situation didn't seem nearly as hopeless as it had.

Running down the branch he was on, he jumped for the trunk and pulled out multiple weapons from his ninja pouch. No one was coming to help him and he couldn't die now. He had to at least do something in order to try and live.

x-x

Getting to the area where the chunin indicated were several bodies, Anko stared at the five corpses. There were three without faces and another two that had been decapitated. Oddly enough, the two decapitated heads looked like they belonged to two of the corpses without faces and she instantly knew who was behind this.

'Damn it, why the hell he is in the exam?' she wondered and grabbed the information on the participants that Kotetsu was holding. Looking through the papers, she came upon the only face of the grass ninja that was missing.

"Go alert the Hokage and send ANBU to the Forest of Death! I'm going after the him right now!" she yelled and while the other chunin went off to Hokage tower. Kotetsu and Izumo were left standing there while Anko ran towards the forest.

Looking at each other, they decided there was only one thing to do.

x-x

Walking down a tunnel, Naruto neared the exit. He knew this because he could smell more and more fresh air coming down the tunnel.

He decided not to stay in the cavern or venture toward the large mass of chakra signatures. They were likely more snakes and he didn't want to get involved with them. It was bad enough that he smelled like snake and was nearly swallowed. The cavern had a number of tunnel systems and he chose the one that smelled of fresher air and less of snake.

The snakes and the tunnels were both new to him as he had never found either during the time he spent in the Forest of Death. Given that the training ground was ten miles in diameter, it was possible that he had just never found an entrance to the tunnel system or encountered one of the snakes.

The tunnel started going uphill and he eventually came to the exit which was a hole in the ceiling that some sunlight was coming through. Jumping up, he ran along the surface of the tunnel until he came out of the hole. Once his eyes quickly adjusted to the bright sunlight, he found himself in a strange area.

He stared at his surrounding for quite some time as and tried to figure out where he might be. The grass was normal in size the but the plants were gigantic and bigger than normal sized trees in Fire Country. Focusing on his chakra sensing, he couldn't find any chakra that were familiar to him. There were a few signatures but they weren't human. Looking to individual plants, he tried to see if he could recognize them from the information that Shakky had given him years ago on the different types of plants in the forest of death but he they were all unfamiliar to him.

It was at this point that he started getting a foreboding feeling in his gut. 'I can't find any chakra signatures. This area also doesn't look like the forest of death.' he thought and jumped to one of the plants and ran up the stem to the large leaves. Jumping onto the top of one of the leaves he looked out at a very foreign landscape.

The horizon was comprised of mountains and everything closer to him was dotted with plants of similar size to the one he was standing on as well as smaller mountains. Turning around on the leaf, he looked in different directions. In one direction he could also make out a large forest and there was a large lake in another direction. Coming back to the original view of the mountains he had upon jumping onto the leaf, he stared in the direction while his mind wandered for an unknown amount of time.

The forest of death was only ten miles in diameter and he could likely see for over ten miles from his current vantage point. Nothing in his view looked like the forest of death and he couldn't see Konoha or the Hokage mountain. Fire Country didn't have mountains that looked like that and the plants were all strange. There was nothing familiar in any direction he looked at and he couldn't feel any chakra signatures that corresponded to a person and not an animal.

For the first time in his life he was forced to admit something to himself.

'I'm lost.' he realized and just stood on the plant staring off into the distance without a clue as to where he was, how he got there, or how he was going to get back.

x-x

Ducking a punch, Sasuke tried to respond with several moves but each was blocked by his opponent. Even if the man was slightly injured, he was unable to get any attack to land.

The man he was fighting was amused by his efforts and kept chuckling or making comments. It unnerved him and he wasn't able to keep up with the man, despite his active sharingan. His current efforts were rewarded with a punch to the face and then a follow-up knee to a different part of his face and sent him back onto the wood of the branch they were on.

The man walked up to him and started talking but he was more interested in igniting the small explosive pellets that he had placed on the ninja's back

x-x

After cursing the tigers of the Forest of Death and the snakes in the caves, he sat down on the plant and started meditating. At first it was to calm himself down and try to think as clearly as he could about his situation. It was still hard to fathom that he had no idea where he was or how far he was away from Konoha.

It was very unlikely that he would be able to finish the chunin exams, considering he would have to somehow make it back to Konoha from wherever he currently was, and do it within a time-span of four more days. He eventually moved past those thoughts and to what he was going to do. He needed to get back or at least he should try to get back.

He had wanted to leave Konoha and technically that had happened but this was not what he had in mind. No one would be able to find a body so they would either think he ran away or was killed and the body was destroyed or hidden. The situation wouldn't have been that bad if he wasn't all alone. He had promised Sora that they would go on adventures together, after he left the village and quit being a ninja. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He didn't want the people that he cared about to think he was probably dead.

His meditation continued and eventually he started to feel the wind around him like he did in Wind Country. He felt the breeze move by him and around him. Getting lost in the sensation and experience was very easy as it was so calming. He began pushing all of his other thoughts aside without even realizing and focused completely on the wind currents and what they were doing.

The wind was like the ebb and flow of the ocean currents came and went. The currents mostly followed the same direction and general path. With the continuous rhythm, it was easy to notice when something was out of place. One single current caught his attention so he focused on it.

It traveled differently from every other current around it which was very strange as it probably shouldn't have been able to. Before he was able to investigate it any further, he had the sudden feeling that he was falling.

His eyes shot open to find himself still sitting on the leaf and nothing had changed since he first started meditating. He glanced around but there was no sign of any danger or any reason for him to be falling. He instinctively looked to the direction that the rogue current had been heading, which was the large forest that he had looked at earlier.

He stared at it for a while until he thought, 'Why not. It worked before.' Getting up, he started jumped from large leaf to large leaf and headed in the direction of the large forest.

x-x

Looking at her injured teammate again, she wondered just what was going on. The ninja that Sasuke had been fighting stretched out his neck and bit Sasuke. The wound turned into a tattoo and cased Sasuke great pain. Now her teammate had a fever and was sweating terribly.

She had managed to get him to some cover in the roots of one of the large trees and they had been there for over an hour.

Nothing was making any sense and she couldn't understand why all this happening. Naruto was gone and had disappeared completely. They had been attacked by a person claiming to be Orochimaru and she knew the name from history lessons in the academy but she had no idea why he would want Sasuke. Now her Uchiha crush had been injected by something and she had no idea when he would recover of if he would recover. She just wanted the nightmare to be over and to leave this horrible forest.

There was nothing she could do at this point because she had no idea what was wrong with Sasuke and couldn't leave Sasuke to go look for Naruto. She had no skills in medical ninjutsu or anything that would useful to help Sasuke There were also likely at least ten teams in the forest that might find them. Fighting was never something she was good at and she had focused more on the coursework than the practical work at the academy. The only good news was they they didn't have a scroll.

She had set traps outside the area they were in but there was little else she could do. This was the most helpless she had ever felt and the first day of the exam hadn't even ended yet.

x-x

Quickly jumping from branch to branch, Anko searched for her former sensei. She knew who the culprit was the moment she saw the missing faces on the grass ninja. She had no idea why he was in the chunin exams but she was going to find him. Then she would kill him, even if it meant killing herself in the process.

Though her sensing ability was minimal at best, she still had ways to find her former sensei. A single snake came out of her sleeve and its tongue flicked at the air. Moving its head in a direction, she changed course and headed that way.

She tried to focus on her surroundings but it was difficult with the thoughts that were running through her head. She wanted to know what her former sensei and S-ranked missing-nin was doing in Konoha. 'Is he after the Sandaime?' she wondered and she lept off another branch. The Sandaime would be at the tower in just a few days so it was possible that Orochimaru was going to be there, however the deaths of not only the grass ninja but also the other two unidentified ninja confused her. No attempt was made to cover up the bodies and they were all left where they would be found.

She still had trouble keeping in her laughter at the thought that Orochimaru had entered and failed the first exam. Apparently Naruto had messed up whatever plans the man had without even knowing it.

Moving to the next branch, she stopped and turned to look at the man partially imbedded into the trunk. The eyes of Orochimaru opened and widened at the fact that Anko was standing not twenty feet away from him. His mouth opened and his tongue launched out.

Anko had a hand full of throwing knives in her hand but the tongue latched onto her wrist and she was forced to drop them. 'Sen'eijashu.' (hidden shadow snakes hands) she said and four snakes came out of her sleeves. They latched onto the tongue and she yanked as hard as she could.

Orochimaru was forcefully pulled out from the bark of the tree and pulled towards his former student.

She grabbed him in mid-flight and threw him against a tree trunk that was behind her. A kunai came out of her sleeve and she stabbed him in the heart. Staring at the man that had betrayed her and the village, she cursed when she heard a familiar laugh coming from behind her.

"Kukuku. Anko-chan, you went right for the kill." the real Orochimaru said from the branch behind her. He was perfectly fine and she glanced back to see the one she had stabbed turn into mud.

He put his hand into a half ram seal but nothing happened. Anko looked at him strangely before she realized what he was doing. It had been several years since her cursed seal had been destroyed and she actually forgot that only a few people knew it was gone. Orochimaru had evidently thought he could still use it against her.

Frowning slightly, Orochimaru wondered what was going on, 'Did the Sandaime manage to create a seal strong enough to inhibit the effects of my earlier version of the cursed seal?'

This was something that needed to be investigated because he had just given Sasuke his newer cursed seal a few hours ago. If the Sandaime had developed a method for sealing off his cursed seal, then he needed to know about it.

"It seems I've underestimated the Sandaime's fuinjutsu abilities." Orochimaru stated and as soon as he said it, he had the thought that perhaps Jiriaya was behind it. Anko didn't respond to the statement the way he thought she would and that told him that it wasn't the Sandaime who had done it.

"Jiraiya then, was it?" he inquired further and Anko moved a step back as he moved a step forward.

The statement also didn't give away the information that he was after. 'If it wasn't either of them, then who was able to do it?' he wondered and continued to move forward.

Anko began to realize just what kind of danger she was currently in. Before that, she knew that her former teacher would likely toy with her and not take her seriously, which she had counted on. This however was different. She had forgotten that her cursed seal had been removed and now Orochimaru was giving her a look that she never wanted to see from him and it scared her greatly. It was a look that told her that he wanted to know everything about what had been done to the seal. The look spoke of doing just about anything to gain that knowledge and she knew better than most about his 'experiments'.

If she didn't want to become one of his experiments, the only option she had was a suicide jutsu to try and kill both of them or to make sure she couldn't be captured alive. She was ready to perform a kinjutsu that she knew from him but the battle had changed. The problem was that he was no longer toying with her and wouldn't be caught by surprise anymore. She had lost the edge she needed.

As Orochimaru moved towards her, she was having trouble moving at the thought of what he would do to her to find out the information he wanted. His movement stopped though and his attention focused elsewhere.

Hearing the large incoming projectile, Orochimaru jumped away as a large crustacean-like mace smashed into the branch he had just been standing on.

Jumping to the branch, Kotetsu put his arm on his mace and picked it up while looking at Anko, "Don't worry Taicho, we've got your back." he said with a confident smile.

'Fucking idiots!' Anko cursed under her breath as now they would likely both be killed for getting in Orochimaru's way. She had been waiting for ANBU and not chunin. Focusing back on Orochimaru, she noticed he was having trouble with the branch.

Looking down at his feet, Orochimaru noted that they were stuck to the trunk of the tree with some kind of sticky substance. 'Tree sap?' he questioned but it didn't seem like it. He was so focused on Anko that he had apparently been caught off-guard by a chunin. He frowned at the thought. His eyes however widened when he felt a second ninja running down the trunk at him.

Brandishing one of his giant kunai blades, Izumo charged the stuck snake sennin. His syrup capture field had worked perfectly and he thought they might just be able to pull their plan off. Swinging the blade, he tried to bisect Orochimaru but the man bent himself under the strike. Izumo kept going though as this was just one setback and they still had other options.

Orochimaru looked out at the incoming fireball that was heading right for him and scowled before going through the required handseals for a C-ranked water jutsu to counter and shot the water out of his mouth.

The steam produced by the colliding jutsu was enough that it completely hid the incoming conch shell mace that Kotetsu had once again thrown.

Orochimaru contorted his body to dodge as his feet were still stuck to the trunk of the tree. He wasn't fast enough to dodge the mace completely and part of the shell struck his shoulder producing a crunch that told him his arm was either dislocated or his shoulder blade was broken.

'I can't believe insects like these two are coming so close to doing me serious injury.' he thought with anger boiling up inside of him. It was one thing to be injured by an a powerful opponent and it was quite different to be so injured by mere pawns.

Using a quick low level fire jutsu, he heated up the sticky substance beneath him enough that it lost most of its stickiness and he jumped off the trunk and onto a nearby branch. He had never encountered a jutsu quick like that and before he think about it any further, he had to dodge the snakes that Anko had sent out of her sleeve at him.

Putting more space between himself and the three opponents he looked at them with a glare. It wasn't supposed to be this difficult to face his former student and two chunin. He was already slightly injured from his snake summon that exploded for no discernible reason and somewhat from the battle with the Uchiha. Now his arm was injured as well. He could prolong the fight and take out the Kusangi to finish the two chunin off and then capture Anko but it was looking to be more trouble than it was worth. The thought made him frown even more and he released a large amount of killing intent, only to notice that the three Konoha ninja weren't very affected by it.

'I could just have Anko captured during the chunin exam finals. It would be much simpler and I could then study whatever fuinjutsu is sealing off my cursed seal.' he thought. If Anko and two chunin had managed to find him here then other ninja might be soon to follow.

"Kukuku." he laughed to keep up the appearance that he was still perfectly fine, "We haven't seen each other in so long and yet your so cold Anko. You even brought backup with you." he said and smiled.

"What are you here for?" demanded Anko as she and her two teammates stared down the snake-like man from the branch they were on.

"I merely gave a little gift to a certain Uchiha in the exam." he stated and laughed.

Anko could tell that he was referring to the cursed seal and even from the distance that was between them, she knew he was looking to her shoulder where he had placed the mark. 'He doesn't know that its gone. He must just think it was sealed off.' she realized.

"Don't stop the exams prematurely. If you try and end my entertainment, it won't bode well for the leaf village." he stated and used the body flicker technique to make a fast getaway.

A moment of silence ensued and Anko thought, 'When the hell did they become so dependable?'

The moment ended when Kotetsu and Izumo looked at each other. "Alright, we scared away Orochimaru." said Kotetsu with a smile and he and Izumo high-fived each other in celebration over their accomplishment.

"Idiots!" Anko admonished with a shout before continuing, "You didn't scare him away! He was barely intimidated by the two of you!"

Another moment of silence passed before Izumo said, "Alright, we moderately intimidated Orochimaru." and high-fived again.

'Idiots, complete idiots.' Anko said under her breath as she sweat-dropped at the pair of chunins. 'Do they even know how close to death they came?' she wondered.

Underneath the broad smiles and short celebration, both of the chunins were thinking, 'Oh my god, we came so close to a horrible death!' and their nervous laughter was used to cover up the shear terror they were feeling.

**Please Review**

AN: It was Asuma's choice what to tell the genin on his team and I thought he might choose to leave out many details about the fight and just say that Kakashi handled it. So that is why Shikamaru is thinking of attacking Team Seven.

If Orochimaru knew that it was gone and thought the process could be replicated with Sasuke, he probably wouldn't have left and stayed to fight.

**Responses to Reviews:** i hope you realise, Reader, and atomant

**Reviewer: i hope you realise **

Naruto was even offered a position with the new twelve guardians when he was a little older but he turned it down.

i hope that you realise that by having naruto turn it down instead of havinng him say he would think on it you lost a way for naruto to get outta the village without the villagers or the council being able to do shit about it

**Response:** Even if Naruto did join the twelve guardians, he would still be linked to Konoha and I very much doubt that he would enjoy protecting the Fire Daimyo. He is much more interested in traveling and seeing the elemental countries than staying in Fire Country to guard a rich snobby person. He would still be a ninja of Konoha and once he was done with the twelve guardians, he would have to return to Konoha. So it really wouldn't be getting away from the village. I also said in the future and by the time that might happen, he would likely have left the village. Shikamaru wasn't offered a position until after the three year time skip so I have no idea when the twelve guardians reformed and it seems likely that it wasn't until after the time skip.

**Reviewer: Reader **

It is a good but frustrating story, since the return of Naruto in Konoha you seems to focus on downplainying Naruto in view of the Konaha's ninjas and generally make him plan various way of escape any notice. The whole Suna affair and the following meeting between Naruto and team sabaku was a little ridiculous. I skip most of theses parts now because if at first the idea of Naruto pranking his team to escape his boredom and his anger at his situation in the village was amusing, it seems to take too much time on the advencement on the plot.

Anyway, the story is still a great work.

**Response: **Naruto has spent most of his life learning about the value of information from Shakky. It made sense that he would try and downplay everything about himself and keep any information about him or his abilities from getting out. The more people find out about him, the more they will talk about it, and I just didn't see Naruto was wanting anyone in Konoha to know very much about him.

As for the plot advancement and spending too much time on other things. I wanted to have unique missions and situations as well as try not to write the exact same stuff that happened in canon and that everyone else might write. So I had to either skip certain situations or write something completely different. I felt that sometimes if I didn't put something else in-between large segments of story, that it might get boring for readers. If I didn't have those prank segments, the suna mission might have been kinda dull and they can also serve to advance the plot and add in extra elements to the story.

**Reviewer:** atomant

another good chapter, although it was mostly a filler before the main events in the second exam. there are a lot of changes i think naruto's necklace showing its powers by making people ignore him, or forget about him in their plans. if you're planning an invasion and gaara is your trump card, then you shouldn't ignore that konoha has one those as well. i think in the original story academy records blinded orochimaru to the threat level of naruto. in your story there is an unknown, a potentially powerful shinobi that could cause a lot of trouble for your plans and you can't gather any information on him. these should ring a few bells for orochimaru and kabuto but they didn't. a likely answer besides a plot hole is that when the necklace tests naruto and likes his responses, it helps in small ways like orochimaru not caring about him or temari forgetting to report him or the village not caring about him when he isn't around.

the reason i called this chapter mostly a filler is the plot thickens from now on, there will be a confrontation between orochimaru/kabuto/gaara and naruto. maybe only one or all three. all of them are major characters in the story and the events in the chunin exams will help shaping the whole story. there are changes already happening from naruto's past actions like zabuza and haku likely coming to konoha for the exams.

i think naruto can capture kabuto by using seals when they meet in the exams, and naruto will try to avoid fighting gaara.

i think naruto will steal a scroll before the exam or right at the start of the exam and will try to complete the second round as quickly as possible. there will be a lot of tigers after all and naruto will likely run from them rather than fighting. because of this orochimaru might miss them in the forest.

i'm wondering what the hokage is planning for the invasion, because he had a lot of time to prepare for a suitable response for orochimaru and sand invasion. what will zabuza and haku do in konoha, what will sora and the cooks will do during the invasion. most likely gather their cooking knives and cut everyone attacking the restaurants into pieces.

a side note, will naruto drive ibiki mad with frustration.

wow this has been a very long review, update soon please because i can classify this as a cliffhanger if i think about the exciting events waiting right in the forest they are about to enter.

**Response:** I think Kabuto is starting too and will definitely realize the threat before Orochimaru does. At this point in the story, Orochimaru is much more concerned with Sasuke and his plans for the village than Naruto. Even in canon manga, he didn't even know that Naruto (kyuubi container) was alive when they met in the forest of death. So Naruto doesn't register at all on Orochimaru's radar.

I do have many things planned for the invasion and what will take place. I haven't really planned anything else with Ibiki yet but I'll have to look into it.


	23. Chapter 23

AN: I don't own Naruto, or One Piece

AN: It won't take me anywhere near as long to write the next chapter.

x-x

Chapter XXIII: Finding the hidden village

x-x

Naruto moved through the incredibly large trees of the new forest and stopped again on a branch. It had been just under a day since he left the cave and started exploring the forest. Unfortunately he was getting the feeling that he was being watched. It started right after he entered the forest and hadn't stopped since then. It was similar to how Orochimaru had been watching his team but this was different. He felt more than one set of eyes on him. No chakra signature could be felt, no sound could be heard, but he knew they were there.

Logic told him it wasn't Orochimaru that was watching him but then he wasn't sure what it could be this time. With giant snakes back at the caves and with all the other creatures that he had passed and felt while moving to the forest, it was likely a group of large animals stalking him.

This worried him greatly as he had never come across animals that were so patient and stealthy. He still wasn't sure how the snake managed to get the drop on him but he did know that it didn't spend time stalking him. He had already taken a short nap inside one of the large trees for protection and once he emerged, he found himself being watched again.

Despite this, he decided to continue on in the direction that the wind indicated. Or at least what he thought was the direction that it indicated, he couldn't be sure anymore. The trees of the forest were actually larger than the ones in the Forest of Death which was something he didn't think possible and he only noticed it when it took him so much longer than he originally anticipated to make it to the forest. It just stayed in the distance as he moved towards it and kept getting bigger and bigger.

The trees were very overgrown and he already had a few close calls with animals that had tried to make a meal out of him. One of them ended up being his dinner a few hours ago before something started watching him. He supposed they could have been attracted by the fire or the smell of food.

x-x

Her eyelids once again started to shut as he sat and waited. Sasuke's condition had barely changed in the time she had been watching over him and now she was succumbing to the tiredness that she felt. Each eyelid felt so heavy and when they were closed for a brief moment, everything felt better.

Forcing her eyes open once again, she fingered the kunai she was holding. Naruto had yet to come back and was no doubt lost somewhere in the forest. She had no idea what to do or how to manage the situation she was currently in. It had never come up before and she felt completely helpless. Kakashi-sensei wasn't here and she had no one else to rely on but herself.

Once again her eyes started closing as she fought to keep herself awake.

Crouched behind a nearby tree were the members of a genin team from the Hidden Sound Village. They had been waiting behind the tree for some time now as Dozu waited for the most opportune moment to attack. They could only hear the heartbeats and breathing of two ninja so they had been on alert for the third but he had yet to show up.

Looking to his two teammates, he could tell that they were getting bored and restless. The pink haired girl was nearly asleep and if they waited only a little bit longer, they could move in to kill Sasuke and take the teams scroll, if they still had one.

x-x

Coming to a stop on the branch, Naruto's head turned back behind him and he stopped to listen. He was sure he had just heard a noise other than the normal background noise of the forest.

Waiting and observing the area, he still felt that he was being watched. No more unusual sounds were heard but he definitely heard something. Whatever was following him had definitely slipped up.

He was also getting really annoyed at being followed all the time.

"Alright, I'm getting tired of being watched and followed. Come out and fight or get lost." stated Naruto and he put his hands on his swords.

Nothing happened. The forest still had the same noises and nothing was coming after him or towards him. He waited for almost a minute before something did happen. He sensed an imminent attack through his color of observation but the vision he received showed him nothing. The attack was supposedly from behind yet nothing was there and no one was actually attacking.

Turning around to view the attack right before it happened he didn't see anything but he felt the movement and heard the noise too late to dodge.

An invisible force smacked him from behind and sent him down into the forest below. He smashed into the forest floor a moment later. His vision was blurred as he tried to stand and figure out what was happening.

'I couldn't see the attack.' he realized. His haki told him of an attack but there was nothing in the vision it showed him.

Receiving another sense of an attack, he rolled out of the way and the ground he left deformed under an attack of some kind. He felt the ground shake under the force and clumps of dirt and grass were thrown up into the air.

'Its invisible.' he realized and determined this to be the only viable explanation. His attacker or attackers were completely invisible , suppressubg their chakra completely, and made no noise when they moved or attacked. It was a foe he had never encountered before.

Moving and attempting to dodge unseen attacks from one or multiple opponents proved to be incredibly difficult and he ended up jumping or rolling out of the way of numerous attacks, one after the other. There was no time to make handseals or form any counterattacks with ninjutsu, so he reached for his swords. The moment he did, he felt attacks coming from seemingly every direction. There was no way he could dodge all of the attacks as he couldn't tell when they would hit or where exactly they were coming from. He tried to use Haki to defend himself but he wasn't fast enough.

He was hit hard in the back and side. The hits sent him flying a few exposed tree roots which he smacked into and then fell back to the ground. Everything was going black and he could feel himself losing consciousness. Looking up from the ground, he noted three greenish blobs had appeared in front of him. Before he finally passed out, he could hear talking coming from them but he couldn't make any of the words out.

x-x

Staring at the body of the boy in front of them, the three conversed about the trespasser.

"So that's what a human looks like?" questioned one of the large green figures. They had never seen a human before as it had been decades since one had been near their forest and they had only ever heard descriptions of them.

"Yes, Hiryuu, that is definitely a human." stated the second green figure and it moved closer to the body to inspect it.

"That last hit with my tail didn't kill it, did it?" inquired the third and final of the three reptiles. It moved closer to its companion to get a better look as well.

"No its still breathing, Tsuno. Now the question we must answer is what do we do with him?" he asked his two two companions as his eyes swiveled independently to each of them so both were in his view.

"I think we should take him back to the elder and see what he has to say." stated the one called Hiryuu.

"I agree with Hiryuu, it could be interesting." stated Tsuno.

"There's only one problem," said the final figure who had yet to be named by the remaining members, "he smells strongly of snake. I noticed it when we were following him."

They looked contemplative before Tsuno spoke up again, "An execution would still be interesting." and the other two sweat-dropped.

x-x

"So Orochimaru was like, 'Please don't hurt me any further,' and then he used the body flicker technique to run away." stated Kotetsu and Izumo nodded his head in agreement as they lounged in the chairs surrounded by many other ninja.

Some of the present ninja were supposed to be patrolling and manning the tower but rumor had quickly spread concerning the presence of Orochiimaru in the forest and that three ninja had fought the S-ranked criminal, so they were trying to find out as much as possible.

"Now way!" said one of the ninja in disbelief and he continued, "You two couldn't have done all that."

"I didn't even know that you guys knew so many A-ranked jutsu, being only chunin and all." stated another ninja.

"Anko-sama, is all that really true?" asked a chunin to the special jonin standing in the doorway. Anko was staring at both chunin with her eyes narrowed and a serious look look on her face.

'Oh shit, were screwed! I didn't even hear her arrive." thought Izumo and Kotetsu's thoughts mirrored those of his partner.

Anko had heard most of the story the two chunin had embellished and had only just stopped her eye from twitching at such a whimsical tale of horse shit.

Getting a wicked idea, Anko replied, "Yep every word of it is true. I was really impressed with these two. If Orochimaru shows up in or near the village again, the Sandaime requested that they be sent in first to deal with him before the ANBU go in." stated Anko with sickly sweet smile.

The gathered ninja didn't catch the lie and were all blown away by the confirmation of what she had said. No one of the gathered crowd was more surprised than Izumo and Kotetsu.

'Send us...in first...'

'Oh Kami no!'

x-x

Lee had come to her rescue but had been incapacitated by the Sound genin with the gauntlet. She was then faced with fighting the three ninja alone again.

Sakura had tried to fight them but her ninjutsu only consisted of academy jutsu as she had not tried to learn anything new since graduating and never trained outside of what little team training her team did. As a result of this, she was not able to defeat even a single member of the Sound team despite them not taking her seriously.

Team Ten had come out of the surroundings to help which was quite surprising given that Ino was the one that was determined to help her. Before Team Ten got very involved though, everyone's attention had been diverted to what was happening in the roots of the tree where Sasuke was. An incredible amount of malicious chakra was coming from the roots.

A figure walked out from the roots which she recognized as Sasuke. However, the strange marks on his body and the foreign chakra coming off him were not something she had every seen or felt before.

'What's happening to you Sasuke-kun?' she wondered as her teammate turned to her and she didn't recognize the look in the eyes that were looking back at her.

x-x

Three figures moved through the trees at an incredible pace. The jumped and ran from branch to branch of the massive trees of the forest. They wasted no movements and moved in the most efficient manner with precise and graceful motions.

They were heading to the secret area that their kind inhabited in a particular location deep inside the large forest. Many of the large animals in the western lands all had their own realm where they congregated and lived. The snakes had large and expansive dens in an area of the plains, while the toads had their mountain area. These areas were separated by a good distance from each other.

The chameleons were no exception and had claimed the entire forest as their territory with a specific secret area that they lived in. It was easy to get lost in the expansive forest but they all knew their way. Other nearby areas had also been claimed by other species of large animals but with varying intelligences. Most of the large animals in the western lands were more intelligent than the much smaller animals in the elemental countries but only a minority of the the more intelligent ones were capable of speech or jutsu and other chakra based techniques.

The area they were currently headed to had no real name to anyone else and was only referred to as 'the sanctuary' or 'the village' by the chameleons that lived there. Trespassers into the forest were not tolerated and it was routinely patrolled by squads of chameleons. Only a single human in the last one hundred years had ever entered it.

Coming to a stop, they looked over an an incredibly large open area that was the sanctuary. The forest thinned and then opened to grassy areas with large boulders and a large lake in the middle. On the large boulders were numerous other chameleons of different sizes and types that were sunning themselves. The trees in the surroundings were hollowed out in certain areas of the huge trunks. The hollowed out areas provided homes, meeting places, and storage for all the inhabitants. The large stumps of a few trees were also in the open area and they had been cut down years ago to let in more light and make the open area a bit bigger.

The group of three were greeted and acknowledged by several of their fellow chameleons before they headed to one of the large trees. They climbed up the trunk and to one of the many balconies created for dwellings. Finding the correct large doorway, one of the three knocked on the door so as to be allowed entry by the village elder.

x-x

Sasuke crouched to pick up the scroll that the Sound team had left. It was the scroll they needed and if Naruto had somehow managed to keep their original scroll then they would be able to pass. He had no idea where his teammate was and they would need to find him in order to get to the tower or try and get another scroll.

Team Nine had already left the area with Lee and were searching for another scroll, as the one that Sasuke collected was not the scroll they needed. Team Ten had already lost their scroll in a surprise attack by Team Eight. The fellow Konoha ninja had not injured the team but taken their scroll and moved to the tower. Shikamaru was positive that they would not be able to get another two scrolls as it was 'beyond troublesome.' Ino reluctantly accepted this as they were not prepared to face two teams for the needed scrolls or perhaps face some of the much stronger teams that could be still around and after more than the needed scrolls. They had been on their way out of the forest when they stumbled upon most of Team Seven and they had only just left on their way again.

With the rest of the teams gone, it was just himself and Sakura in the forest. He tried not to let the pain coming from his shoulder show but he could see the pink haired girl's concern over him and whatever had happened him. The power he was using just a little while ago was amazing. It made him do things that weren't necessarily his own actions but with it he felt was much closer to defeating Itachi than before. Now they just needed to find Naruto and get the remaining scroll.

'I can't believe that idiot got so completely lost.' he thought and tried to decide what direction then should head in. There was no way of knowing how many teams were out there and where Naruto was. The would just have start heading to the tower and hopefully Naruto would be heading there as well.

x-x

The three chameleons entered the chambers of the village elder. They knew he was there but sometimes he didn't answer so people would leave him alone, so they let themselves into the very large room beyond the front door.

The elder was a much smaller chameleon and sat upright on pillow meditating with his walking stick next to him. He was meditating in silence until the three had barged in.

"Great he's asleep again." stated Tsuno and started leaving the room before the perfectly still elder sighed and opened his eyes to see the last three individuals that he ever wanted to see come into his home.

"Hmm, I can't hear you'll have to come closer." stated the elder and he leaned forward and tilted his head to the side. Tsuno approached the raised area the elder was on and once he was close enough, the elder grabbed his stick and in one fluid motion struck the chameleon on the nose with a loud 'smack'.

"I'm wasn't sleeping, I was meditating. There's a difference and you interrupted me. Also when I don't answer that doesn't mean you can just waltz right in." the elder stated with a dull look as Tsuno grabbed his nose in pain and then backed off slightly. The elder's eyes swiveled between the trio in front of him and he dreaded what they had come for. No one around this village seemed to be able to solve their own problems or think independently and they always wanted his guidance.

The room was quite large and able to accommodate all three medium sized summons into the room with no problem. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all the wood of the tree they were in but it appeared very smooth and polished. Not many decorations or any pieces of furniture were present in the large open room. It was mostly used for meetings and specifically made to accommodate the majority of chameleons living in the village.

The leader of the trio walked up and bowed his head slightly, then spoke, "Tokage-sama, we've come to you in order to ask of your guidance."

The elder groaned slightly as someone was always coming to ask of his guidance. He wished there were more elder chameleons so he wasn't the only person that people came to. Sighing he answered, "Alright, what is it this time, Hideki-kun?"

The three looked at each other briefly before the newly named Hideki answered, "We were on patrol in the forest when we came across something."

"And?" stated Tokage as he moved his wrist in a circular fashion as if to say 'get the point.'

"It turned out to be a human." Hideki quickly finished and they watched the elder's reaction.

'Alright, that's not so bad. Unusual perhaps, but its much more important than what they usually come to me needed advice on or when they are brought here for punishment for causing trouble in the village.' thought Tokage as he mulled over the possibilities of what a human would be doing in there forest.

"And he smelled like snake." added Tsuno and the elders demeanor instantly changed. The three winced slightly under the new look they were getting.

"What exactly did you do with it?" questioned Tokage in a very serious voice. He received no answer and this made one of his eyes twitch.

"You better not have brought him back here to our sanctuary." he added and none of the three would look him in the eyes.

"GOD DAMN IT! Whose bright idea was that!" he demanded and both Tsuno and Hideki backed off slightly leaving Hiryuu still standing one step closer to the elder than they were.

Staring at Hiryuu the elder said, "Come closer for a second." and he reached for his walking stick. Hiryuu however backed off with the others.

"You brought a snake summoner into our hidden village?" demanded Tokage and three winced again.

"Its a snake summoner, do you know how much we distrust and hate the snakes?" Tokage questioned and expected answers from each of them.

"Kill on sight." responded Hideki.

"Mortal enemies." stated Hiryuu.

"I can't remember." said Tsuno with contemplative look.

"You three continue to infuriate me. You especially." said Tokage and he pointed at Tsuno with one of his digits.

"But I thought we were friends." said Tsuno and Tokage responded, "Friendship revoked."

"Did you three not even think about the ramifications of allowing a snake summoner into our village?" questioned Tokage.

"He was already heading directly to the village." responded Hiryuu as he tried to placate elder.

'He knows where the village is?' thought a slightly startled Tokage as he considered the implications of this knowledge. The fact that a snake summoner knew where the village was could mean some kind of surprise attack or that they were planning something. Fighting between the summoning animals wasn't uncommon but not much had happened between them and the snakes for decades. There area had never been found by the snakes during the fighting as it was always outside the village in the area between the forest and the snake dens.

"Where is the summoner?" Tokage again demanded before they could say anything else.

"We suppressed his chakra and tied him up. As for where he is..." Hideki paused and Hiryuu's throat bulged. Tokage watched as the chameleon opened its mouth and deposited a masked boy in front of him with with a 'thud'.

"Where the hell did I just come from?" Naruto questioned to no one in particular as looked around to try and to get his bearings after being dropped onto the hard wood floor. He had no idea where he currently was or what was happening.

Naruto took in his current situation in a matter of moments. He was inside an unknown room with four large creatures, three of which were the ones that attacked him. He couldn't feel his chakra, likely because of the different sealing tags stuck to his chest and back, and whatever he was bound by, which appeared to be green vines, was incredibly sturdy. Looking to the others present in the room, he noted that they were all chameleons. Three of which were the same size and over thirty feet long, while the last one was just under the height of an average adult human.

Of the three large ones, one had a set of three horns on his head, another had strange appendages on his back and snake-like tails, while the last one was the smallest of the three seemed to have more skin attached to its legs and underside of its body, likely for gliding/flying. Two were varying shades of green while the one with the horns was more of a brown. The last chameleon seemed to be the oldest from its appearance and just appeared to be a normal chameleon with nothing significant about what body he could see.

'He doesn't look like much and he looks rather young to be a summoner.' thought Tokage as he inspected the prisoner. Walking around the prisoner, he leaned forward slightly to get a whiff of the boy's scent. Despite being inside the enlarged dimensional space of Hiryuu's stomach, the unmistakable scent of snake clung to the boy. It was very strong and recent which only served to further worry him.

'Are the snakes finally trying something after all these years?' he questioned. The sanctuary was safe from anyone as it was hidden in the very large forest. Chameleons periodically patrolled the forest as a preventative measure to keep their village completely hidden from anyone else. 'However, these three said the boy was heading straight here.' he thought and this was the most troubling part.

The forest was by no means easy to navigate or figure out where you were. The sun barely came through, you couldn't see the stars and it was incredibly easy to get lost. The ground even had deposits of iron which caused compasses to stop working. 'Even if he had a map, to head straight for our sanctuary must mean he has incredibly directional and navigational abilities. From the old tales, our ancestors took a couple of years to get used to finding our way around the forest.' were his thoughts as he considered what to do.

As Tokage was thinking about this, Naruto's thoughts were very different.

'Did he just sniff me?' thought Naruto as he starred at the old lizard that was walking around him. He tried to break the binding securing his arms to his sides, but even with his strength they wouldn't budge. He was about to say something to his captors when the lizard spoke.

"Execution." it said in a loud and commanding voice while looking at one of the large chameleons. Naruto misread the situation and said, "Wow that's harsh." he said out loud and then turned to one of the other large chameleons and said to it, "Glad I'm not that guy."

x-x

'Well shit.' thought Naruto as he stood tied to a large boulder on top of an incredibly large tree stump. His back was against the boulder and he had been tied to it with the same vines that were still around his arms and preventing him from breaking free. He was surrounded by chameleons of different size and type who had all apparently come to see his execution on the large flat stump. He tried earlier to figure out what was happening but ended up getting smacked in the head by the walking stick of the old lizard and no one would listen to him.

"I keep tell you I'm not a snake summoner." stated Naruto as he looked at the elder chameleon.

"Yes and I keep hearing you say it, but the evidence speaks for itself. Your story as to how you managed to smell like snake is laughable at best. You don't even have a Konoha forehead protector to back up your story with. You should have created a better story in case you were captured during your mission or whatever reason you have for trying to come here. We cannot let anyone know where our secret village is, least of all the snakes."

"I didn't come to the village, I was brought here by those three." stated Naruto and he motioned to the three chameleons that had attacked him in the forest.

"Be that as it may, you were still heading straight for us and have a connection with the snakes. You cannot be allowed to live as you could try and summon snakes to this location or return to the snake dens and tell them where we are." responded Tokage.

"But I don't even have a summoning contract." argued Naruto in his defense. He wasn't able to use his chakra or manage to get free from his binding. No one knew where he was, even he didn't know where he was, and there was no chance of anyone coming to help him. The situation wasn't looking very good for him.

"It's far to dangerous to let you prove that as you could summon reinforcements. Unfortunately we can't take that chance." finished Tokage and he tapped his walking stick on the surface of the stump for silence. Surprisingly, at least to Naruto, the murmuring and talking of the crowd died down despite the almost soundless tapping of the walking stick.

After everyone's attention was on him, Tokage cleared his throat and then began speaking, "You have all gathered to see what was going on and I will now inform you. A human trespasser into our forest was captured..." he said but was cut off by the sounds of the crowd because of the surprise of having a human enter the forest, "...yes, yes, I know it is very surprising. However this individual smelled strongly of snakes and it is likely that he is a snake summoner..." and Tokage stopped again as the gasps and murmuring of the crowd filled the surroundings.

"To keep the sanctuary a secret and protect ourselves, the trespasser will be executed." and he stopped again for a short break in order for the noise to die down, "The method of execution will be in accordance with our laws and be death...by tonguing." Tokage finished and received several nods of approval from some of the older chameleons. It had been a long time since an execution was performed but this method was the standard.

'What did he just say?' thought Naruto as he tried to figure out what the old lizard was talking about. 'Maybe I just misheard him.' he thought and decided to get clarifications. "Sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you say..." Naruto started but was cut off.

"You will be _tongued to death_!" clarified Tokage and the sky seemed to darken slightly when he said it.

"Ohhhhh...I see...WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! WHAT KIND OF PLACE IS THIS!" demanded Naruto with a yell as he tried to get out of his bonds.

'What is he not understanding about such a simple concept?' wondered Tokage.

"Perhaps a demonstration..." started Tokage as he began to explain but he was cut off by Naruto's indignant shout of, "Demonstration!"

Giving Naruto a dubious look, Tokage motioned to one of the larger chameleons nearby. Right next to the boulder that Naruto was tied to was a second boulder that was not being used for anything. As the chameleon got into position, Naruto wondered whether he should close his eyes or not.

Tokage signaled the large chameleon by tapping his stick on the surface of the stump and in less than a second, the chameleons mouthed opened slightly and the tongue shot out at the boulder. The impact of the incredibly fast moving tongue on the rock caused it to shatter into pieces and the tongue shot back into the chameleon's mouth nearly as fast as it came out. Staring at the destroyed rock and the damaged, Naruto felt rather relieved and voiced his relief, "Oh thank Kami."

This caused some confusion from the audience as the reaction seemed very strange. A moment ago the boy was rejecting the method of execution and now he was relieved by it?

Moving closer, Tokage whispered, "What exactly did you think was going to happen?"

Responding to the question, Naruto said, "Nothing, just get on with the execution."

As the large chameleon took its new position Naruto again went through the situation in his mind. He had no chakra thanks to the sealing tags on his body which he could not remove without his hands which were still bound. He was also bound to the boulder as well. 'No chakra, no movement, no escape.' he thought as the chameleon had finished moving and the old chameleon was about to give the signal to commence his death.

The only thing he had left was Haki which did not rely on his chakra. While he may not be able to use his Haki to break his ropes, he could use it to protect himself. In the position he was currently in, it would be much harder to use Haki to deflect the attack as the best defense he could muster with Haki was actually to use the palms of his hands and counter the attack with a forceful attack of his own. The other method used for defense was to use Haki to harden the body like an armor. However his training with this had never been very successful. He always found it easier to use the more aggressive method of defense.

Calming himself and his breathing, Naruto concentrated on the task at hand. He could feel and see the attack coming. Focusing on his Haki, he began to push Haki into his torso to try and harden it against the impending attack.

'I can do this. I won't die here.' thought Naruto as the chameleon opened its mouth slightly, waiting for the given signal. The old chameleon lifted his walking stick and Naruto knew what was coming. As the stick reached the ground, it produced a very low sound that somehow told his executioner to begin.

The attack came so fast he was barely able to see it. The tongue shot at him and struck his chest. Had he not used any Haki, his torso would have likely been completely pulverized. With his Haki, he stopped some of the attack. The pain came a moment later and if felt like Rayleigh had punched him as hard as he knew his sensei had been capable of hitting. His back hurt as well as he had been smashed into the boulder he was tied to. As for the boulder, it had a few cracks around where his body was and the incredibly sturdy vines he was tied with had deformed and were dripping a green watery flood but had held as well.

The sound of Naruto coughing was the only sound present on top of the stump in the large open are of the sanctuary. His mask started darkening around his mouth from the blood he was coughing up. His Haki control had not been nearly enough to stop the deadly tongue. He made no noise other than the coughing and that mostly subsided after about a minute. Shakky obviously wasn't around to help him so he had to rely on his healing ability to fix the damage as fast as possible. He could still bleed to death internally or have had his organs damaged. His ribcage didn't necessarily feel broken but it was difficult to tell as his entire chest and back was in pain.

The chameleon's were silent for quite some time as they took in the sight before them. The human boy wasn't supposed to be able to survive the attack. Even one of their own would have had difficulty surviving the attack unless they used some kind of jutsu but the boy couldn't use any charka.

'I don't understand how he managed to do it, however I still can't let him live as he could put the whole village in danger.' thought Tokage and he tapped his walking stick into the stump again, signaling the executioner to attack again.

x-x

Two teams had already arrived at the tower. These were the team from Suna and the Team Eight of Konoha. Though Team Eight's members were hesitant about it, they ended up attacking Team Ten to get their second scroll. Of the teams participating, Team Ten seemed like the easiest team to go after because they knew what the team was capable of and knew that they were less likely to seriously hurt each other.

The other teams in the exam were much more experienced and after seeing Gaara of the Sand Team kill of three members of a team from Ame, they went after Team Ten and tried to get a scroll and then head to the tower as fast as possible. Hinata had managed to guide them to Team Ten's location and avoid her cousin Neji who had apparently been trying to track them. Her byakugan had a longer range and she was able to keep enough distance that Neji couldn't find them.

Team Ten wasn't that difficult to defeat as despite Shikamaru's shadow abilities, Shino's bugs proved to be superior and once Shikamaru was defeated, the other two soon followed. Attacking a fellow Konoha team certainly wasn't what he had originally wanted, but Shikamaru actually seemed relived at losing to him and his team. There were no hard feelings when they parted ways and apologies were made.

Sitting in one of the rooms, Shino communicated with his insects that he had around the inside and outside of the tower. He wanted to see who they would be up against in the next exam and try and find more information about what his insects had already reported to him. Apparently an S-ranked criminal originally from Konoha had infiltrated the exams for reasons unknown. Likely someone had more information but his insects had not been able to overhear anything further.

It was very troubling to know this and he hoped no one from his village had been injured by this person. He knew of the sannin but not much information was available to him concerning Orochimaru.

'I should look into it later or ask Tou-san about it.' he thought and conversed more with his insects to form a better information gathering strategy.

x-x

'Nine times.' thought an astounded Tokage as he looked at the injured boy tied to the nearly destroyed boulder.

It had been nine times that an attack that should have killed the boy had somehow been stopped from finishing him off. Nine times that the boy had somehow escaped death. Whatever the boy was using seemed to be getting more affective each time he was attacked. In the last attack, the tongue was completely deflected, almost as if it bounced off, and caused no further injury to the boy or damage to the boulder behind him.

Looking at the still coughing boy, he remembered the determination in the glowing blue eyes right before each attack when the boy looked up to face his possible death head on. The boy was determined to stay alive and survive. It had been a long time since he had seen that kind of determination and tenacity. If the unknown method of survival wasn't strange enough, he would swear that the boy was smiling broadly behind the mask he wore.

'Has he no fear of death?' questioned Tokage as he refrained from tapping the bottom of his cane down on the stump a tenth time.

He knew all about the snakes and what qualities they had. The summoners seemed to share these qualities as well, as did some of the summoners of other species of large animal that he knew about. A person didn't just choose a summons and make that summons work for them. It was more of a partnership and both parties had to want to be summoner and summons. If one did not like the other, then the summons could just destroy their contract and sever all ties or the summoner may stop summoning them. The contract was usually made as a result of both parties having similar qualities and personalities or beliefs.

With this logic, the boy in front him didn't seem to embody any of what he had come to know about the snakes. He wasn't concerned with surviving or that his life was more important than anything else. He didn't immediately run away when a situation became unfavorable. The boy didn't demand to be released, threaten them, or plead for his life. And above all else, he wondered why the boy didn't try and flee already. The bindings holding him were practically useless now and despite injury, he expected the boy to try and remove the suppressing seals on his body or attempt to run.

The boy did none of this.

It produced a sinking feeling in his stomach. Had the boy been telling the truth? That unbelievable story about being swallowed by a snake and then escaping from the snake den, only to go directly towards their hidden village? It seemed ridiculous at the time and it still did.

'Why go through a whole ordeal like that? Unless...he's telling the truth.' were Tokage's thoughts as he tried to answer the questions he had. 'Could such an unlikely story be true...and what the hell is with that glowing necklace?' he wondered as he looked closely at the boy with both eyes and examined the strange necklace he was wearing.

'He looks like he'll pass out soon and won't withstand the next attack.' he noted and then sighed as he disliked the entire situation. Thinking carefully about the situation, he decided to believe the boy and that he that he should try and test the boy's story.

Naruto was near unconsciousness from his injuries, the pain, and just exhaustion from using so much Haki. He tried to feel for the next attack but he found nothing. Looking up he noted that the eyes of the chameleons' were starring at him again. Their looks were very different from the ones that the villagers gave him. Was it pity or just sadness he saw in their eyes?

The old lizard came up to him and actually cut his bonds which freed his body. He was unable to stand and fell to the surface of the stump, then promptly passed out.

x-x

While the boy rested in his living quarters, Tokage went about creating a summoning scroll. This was not to make a contract with anyone but to summon an animal of some type. The scroll incorporated sealing that would take the place of the handseals normally required for the transportation jutsu that was used to summon. With a sample of blood from someone, the scroll could be used to summon an animal from whatever contract the person had signed. Should that person not have a contract, then nothing would be summon when chakra was added to the scroll.

Tokage was using this as a test to see if the boy was telling the truth. He found it odd that just a couple of hours ago he was all set to kill a boy, whose name he still didn't know, that was a threat to his village and now he was going to great lengths to prove that boy's innocence in the matter. The scroll was not difficult to make for a seal expert but did take time for him as he was not that adept with fuinjutsu.

A part of him felt incredibly guilty that he hadn't tried this from the beginning but he was the elder of the village and had to look out for everyone that lived there. He was faced with a difficult decision and made the choice which seemed right at the time and that put the village in at the least amount of risk.

However, now it was likely that all his experience had not helped him at all and the boy lying on the bed with bandages over his chest was actually telling the truth. Not only had his decision nearly killed the boy but he had not even tried to completely hear the boy out or use everything at his disposal to find the truth.

It seemed rather stupid now that he looked back. Decades ago the chameleons and snakes had warred over territory. It had been a bloody conflict with many losses and the snakes being the natural predators of the chameleon had a natural advantage over them. They also weren't nearly as large as their foes. Chameleons were rather small compared to some of the other creatures in the western lands and not many of their kind ever became nearly as large as the boss summons and other large summons of several known species that had contracts.

They'd survived but the scars and memories of the conflicts remained in his mind as well as others in the village. It was hard to forget and when he was told that the boy smelled of snakes, he overreacted to the situation and didn't think things through.

Finishing the scroll, he smeared the boy's blood on it and then prepared to force chakra into the scroll.

The amount of chakra he poured into the scroll would determine what sized animal would be summoned through any contract that the boy possessed. If his initial fears were correct, he might end up summoning a small snake that he would likely kill a moment later to keep it from returning to the snake den.

Preparing himself, he added chakra to the scroll and waited a brief moment...but nothing happened. No smoke, no summoning animal, and no suspicions proved correct. He had been wrong about the boy from the start and nearly killed him because of it.

He sighed, 'Damn it!' he thought with regret and frustration at his own actions.

x-x

Late morning of the third day of the second exam

x-x

Naruto groaned as he had tried to move to a more comfortable position on the bed and was rewarded with dull pain. Opening his eyes slightly, he tried to figure out where he was. The room was not recognizable and contained filled with built in shelving that contained numerous books and scrolls. He could hears the sounds of a forest outside and his memories started to return to him.

'I was being slowly executed.' he remembered but that didn't explain how he managed to get in this room or why he was still alive.

Looking to his chest, he saw the numerous bandages wrapped around his torso. He was also no longer tied up but he could feel his chakra still being suppressed and thought a suppression tag must have been stuck to his back or shoulders.

'Have I been healed?' he wondered. It seemed incredibly strange that one minute he was being executed and the next he was healing in a room.

His head turned to the doorway as he heard someone coming. He could hear the distinct shuffling of feet and tapping of a walking stick. The door opened moments later.

Tokage walked into the room and stopped when he his eye caught the boy sitting up in bed and fully alert. The eye widened as he thought, 'With his wounds I thought he'd be out for days.'

"Awake already?" stated Tokage rhetorically.

"Where are my swords?" Naruto questioned while Tokage moved to the desk in the room and shuffled through some papers.

"They're perfectly fine. Though I don't know if I would call them swords given their length. You'll get them back soon." said Tokage as he found what he was looking for and pulled out a large map.

He rolled up the map and headed back to the door. On his way out he said, "Seeing as your able to sit up, you might as well come with me and get something to eat."

Pulling off the covers, Naruto moved to the side of the bed and put his feet over the edge. Easing himself to the cool floor, he stood up and tried to balance himself. It was painful but not terrible and he was hungry.

Walking out of the room, he followed a distance behind the man-sized chameleon. He hadn't really paid much attention to it but Tokage walked upright like a person despite being a chameleon that would normally walk on all four legs.

Down the hallway they went and then into a kitchen. It was rather primitive but something smelled good that was cooking on a nearby fire. The kitchen had a water basin, counter top, and a fire place that seemed to be made from oddly shaped clay bricks. Naruto walked to the nearby table and sat in one of the two chairs while he watched Tokage fetch two bowls.

The whole situation struck him as rather odd. He was now being treated like a house guest and fed a homemade meal. Technically he could have attacked the old lizard and taken him hostage in order to get away but nothing told him that the chameleon had any bad intentions. He also just didn't feel like fighting anyone.

He therefore waited patiently as the chameleon dished up two steaming bowls of what must have been soup.

Tokage walked the steaming bowls of soup and set one down in front of Naruto. It was piping hot and he couldn't even see what it was so he waited for it to cool, as did Naruto. The boy had not been the least bit hostile or demanded anything, which was rather strange but it was better than he had expected after trying to kill him the previous day. The boy's necklace was also not glowing and hadn't been since the execution was called off.

A silence elapsed between the two as they sat and waited to eat. Both would glance at each other in order to try to figure out what the other might be thinking and then look back at the soup.

The silence was finally broken by Naruto, "My names Uzumaki Naruto but I go by Ryuuma."

Tokage chuckled slightly at the nickname the boy had chosen and then responded with his own name, "My name is Tokage. I am the elder of the village and the chameleons that live in it."

Once this was said, the a silence filled the air once again until Tokage spoke while picking up his spoon. "Once lunch is over we need to talk about you, this village, and your options." he said with finality and put the spoon in the soup.

Naruto looked down at his soup and for the first time noted that once enough steam had cleared...things started coming to the surface. They were chunks of insects. The sight made him go slightly green. He was hungry, but was he that hungry?

"Its not poisoned if that's what your thinking." stated Tokage after eating a spoonful of the soup.

Looking at Tokage and then back at the soup, Naruto thought, 'That's not the problem. In fact I would prefer some of Ba-chan's poisoned chicken noodle soup over this any day.'

His stomach decided to make itself known and he inhaled as he realized that there was no other choice. Letting out the sigh he had been holding, he picked up the spoon in one hand, then closed his eyes and dug in.

x-x

Lunch ended with little conversation between the two. Tokage led Naruto into the meeting room he had been in before he was taken to be executed. The room looked much larger now that no one else was in it and now had a small table with several maps and scrolls on it.

Tokage sat down on a pillow at one end and Naruto sat on the wood floor at the opposite end of the small square table.

He looked at the map and realized that it was very old and seemed to be of the elemental countries. He had memorized a map like that years ago but have never really needed it. Maps never worked for him as they always seemed to be written wrong, not to scale, or omitted everything that he felt was important and included everything he didn't need. In short, all maps were flawed and he never bothered to carry one with him or had even looked at map in years.

"As you can see, this is a map of the elemental countries. You said you were from Konoha, did you not?" asked Tokage and Naruto nodded though he couldn't figure out where Konoha was on the map.

"Do you have any idea where you currently are?" Tokage asked as he prodded for information. If the boy knew where he was and where the sanctuary was located, things would get difficult.

Looking at the map, Naruto took in all of the features present, rivers, streams, and everything he could. Confident he found his location, he pointed to where he thought he currently was.

Tokage just starred at him and then said with slightly disbelief, "That's Lightning Country."

"Oh, oops." said Naruto and he blushed slightly under his mask. He then pointed to the second location he thought he was. "I must be here then." he said as even if his first thought was wrong, his second choice should definitely be right.

"That's Tea Country." responded Tokage with a little more disbelief. 'Is he pulling my tail?' wondered Tokage as he intensely looked at the boy to determine if he was being serious or not.

"Oh, well...then I must be here right." he said a little more embarrassed and while pointing to another area on the map.

"That's Lightning Country again!" said Tokage in a louder and more frustrated voice as his eyes started twitching.

Naruto's face took on a confused look as more intensely at the map. 'Stupid maps.' he thought and rotated it ninety degrees to see if that made any difference in where he thought he was.

"Are you sure I'm not currently in Lightning Country?" questioned Naruto as he starred back at Tokage.

'Dear Kami, I never thought I'd ever meet someone so clueless about maps and directions. Whoever taught this boy must have been a saint when it came to patience.' thought Tokage before he responded to the question, "I'm absolutely positive that you are not in Lightning Country. Your not even anywhere near that country."

'It looks like I don't have to worry about him ever finding his way back or telling anyone else where we are.' Tokage realized.

"Its fine, I didn't expect you to know where you were. Your currently well outside what most maps that you've likely seen would show. Let's move on to something else." said Tokage as he put the map away and focused on the boy in front of him.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what to do with you. Your quite a ways from Konoha and given your directional and map reading skills, you would likely not be able to make it back within your lifetime." said Tokage and he took a short break to shake his head slightly and get over how incredulous but true that statement was before he continued, "We could help you get over halfway back to Konoha or, if you were willing to help us out, completely back there. I don't exactly expect..." started Tokage as he was cut off by Naruto, "I'll do it. How soon can I get back?"

Tokage blinked and then tilted his head slightly to the side. "Hmm, you must be very loyal to your village if you are willing to do anything to get back without even questioning me about what it is." said Tokage out loud as he was curious what would cause the boy to be so dedicated.

"No, actually I hate the village." said Naruto and Tokage blinked in confusion.

"You hate your village?" he questioned as this conversation was getting stranger.

"Yeah pretty much. So how soon can I get back?" he asked.

Tokage's mouth was slightly open as he tried to figure out the enigma in front of him. "If you hate it, why would you want to go back?" questioned Tokage in confusion.

Naruto's thoughts went to Shakky and then to the other people that were in Fire Country that he needed to get back to. Then to the mission he was on in the Forest of Death and Kabuto who he was supposed to be looking into. He knew something was going on and didn't want to just leave things how they were. "I have my reasons. So what is it that I have to do and when can I get back?"

Tokage raised a nonexistent eyebrow at the response but decided to just go with it. "As for when you can get back, perhaps a week or more..." but he was cut off by Naruto again. "What would I have to do to get back in less than two days?"

Tokage stared at him but was actually thinking about the question Naruto had just asked. He only needed one task performed but there was a way it could be done in even less time. It would be much more dangerous especially given the boy's condition.

"Are you sure you want to put yourself through that after...your near-death experience?" asked Tokage. He had not pried into how the boy had managed to survive the ordeal as he didn't want to bring up the fact that he had been responsible for trying to kill him. If everything worked out, they would likely never encounter each other again.

"I'll be fine, just tell me what I have to do." said Naruto in complete seriousness.

"Well it certainly won't be easy but I suppose if everything went right then you could be back in less than two days but we would have to act now." said Tokage as he reached for a nearby scroll and then an ink brush. It would take some time to work out the fuinjutsu that was needed but what the boy asked was still doable and he did feel he owed Naruto after accusing him of conspiring against the village.

"I just need to make a summoning scroll so one of us can summon you back..." but he stopped when Naruto slid the scroll over to his side of the table and then took the brush out of his hands. He was about to object but stopped when Naruto started making the exact seal he wanted and in a fraction of the time.

"Your quite good at that." he noted out loud and Naruto responded, "I had a good sensei."

Naruto finished the fuinjutsu a moment later and Tokage looked at it. He was rather impressed that a boy so young was so gifted in such an obscure art that most never even thought about or bothered to try and learn.

Putting down the scroll, he began from the beginning. "Over eighty years ago, one of our chameleons encountered a human exploring the forest beyond our village. The human was a young male samurai by the name of Kubisaki Kouza. He was exploring the unknown western lands on his own.

It was rather foolish but he was strong, clever, and skilled with a blade. The chameleon he befriended is called Shiromari. They became friends and though we had no interest in having a summoner, Shiromari and Kouza made a summoning contract between them and Shiromari became a personal summons of Kouza.

Years passed and the two explored much of the western lands while having many different adventures. Shiromari would often retell all of them to the chameleons in the village. Kouza eventually became the ruler of his country, which no longer exists. Interestingly enough, though chameleons don't get nearly as large as some of the other summons like the snakes and the toads, Shiromari was one of the few of our kind that grew larger than average. He became the boss of the chameleons and when he wasn't summoned by Kouza he oversaw the village and its inhabitants.

War eventually came upon Kouza's country by several outside sources. Possibly it was one of the ninja wars but the rest of our clan was not involved so we didn't hear much about it. They both fought together but Kouza and his forces were eventually pushed back to near his castle. In the last battle, Kouza asked Shiromari to protect his castle and all of the belongings. He apparently had journals of his adventures, items they had collected, their summoning scroll, and other things in the castle that they both wanted to protect.

Unfortunately, Kouza was killed in the battle and his country was absorbed by several others. However, Shiromari didn't stop protecting the castle. He followed Kouza's last wish and for the last fifty years since the man died, has protected that castle from all intruders. Even the invading army were killed by Shiromari when they tried to loot the castle.

We thought Shiromari would come back but he never did. Of course we tried to convince him to come back but we were never able to. He refused to come back to the village and refused to allow us to summon him back. The distance between our village and the castle was quite large but we periodically sent someone to go and check on Shiromari to see if he would come back but that failed as well. About fifteen years ago, one of our chameleon's just disappeared one the journey to check on the castle. We were never sure what exactly happened that particular chimera chameleon but assumed he was killed. After that, we installed an easier method of going there.

With all the time that has passed, Shiromari has devolved quite a bit. He is no longer thinking clearly beyond Kouza's final instructions and doesn't talk or even really recognize us anymore. This can actually happen to us if we are all alone for such a long time, we go back on our basic instincts and our personality and higher intelligence gets pushed aside.

He's been protecting that castle for so long that he's practically become a part of the castle itself. Its a technique used to better hide ourselves but he's used it so much that he basically is always merged with the castle. Its difficult to tell if there is a castle anymore or if it is just Shiromari posing as the castle.

You come into this because of the scroll that is hidden inside. The summoning scroll that Shiromari and Kouza created is the key to getting him back. If it was destroyed then Shiromari would return to the village. We tried to get at the summoning scroll but Shiromari is one of us and knows all of our tricks, techniques, and tactics so he stops them all and prevents us from doing anything.

Few humans go near castle at all anymore as its considered haunted and they purposefully avoid it. I don't even know how many have probably tried to take something from it or use the castle and ended up being devoured by him.

So that brings me to your task. We will get you back to Konoha if you help us by getting Shiromari back to the village." finished Tokage with his long explanation.

Naruto thought about what he had been told and was already coming up with a very basic plan but there were still a few things he needed to know, "How exactly will I get there, you said it was quite far?"

"Yes it is in the former Neck Country which no longer exists as it has been divided amongst several other countries but it used to be near Rain Country, Wind Country, and Earth Country. I think part of it is now Rock Country and the rest was divided up but that is not very important. We have a much faster method of getting you there but the way back won't be easy." said Tokage.

"How do I get back?" questioned Naruto.

"You will have to come back with Shiromari, though I don't know how happy he will be about everything. The entire task is dangerous. Are you sure you don't want to wait until you had more time to heal?"

"No I'll be fine just tell me where I need to go."

x-x

"Its a well." Naruto stated as he starred at the well in front of him. His chakra was now unsealed and he had all of his equipment as well as his swords with him.

"Actually its really a transportation device or portal. It will take you right near the castle." argued Tokage as he tried to elaborate on its importance and function.

"Its a well." Naruto stated again.

"Its not just a well!" corrected Tokage.

"Fine. So what do I do?" questioned Naruto as he continued to stare at the well with a curious expression as if expecting it to do something.

"All you have to do is jump in. The well will do the rest. Then you need to get to the castle, find the scroll, and make sure you tag along with Shiromari back to the forest so you can make it back to Konoha in the time frame you wanted. Otherwise you will have to make your own way back to your village from the castle. If you still don't believe me, just look at the reflection in the surface of the water." said Tokage.

Peering over the stone that surrounded the well, Naruto looked at the water level which was just below the top of the well. Instead of reflecting the sky above him or even his face, it showed him a grassy area with some trees. It definitely wasn't what he was expecting and it seemed that the old lizard was telling him the truth. Shrugging slightly, he took a deep breath and jumped in.

x-x

A poof of smoke erupted out of nowhere and Naruto dropped about ten feet and landed on the ground in a crouching position. He grimaced slightly as his chest still hurt but quickly checked the area. Sensing his surroundings, he found a large chakra source in one direction. It was far larger than any person and was huge in size as it appeared to him like a blob of chakra.

'That must be the castle.' he thought and could just make out the top of a dark structure above the top of the trees. He wasted no time in heading towards the distant structure and ignored ominous feel of the forest and dark storm clouds overhead.

x-x

To be honest, Tokage had no idea what chance Naruto really had of succeeding. He knew the boy would likely survive whatever Shiromari threw at him but whether he could complete the task, he really couldn't say. Despite this, he would keep his word and sent for three runners to take the summoning scroll Naruto had made into the mountains.

The journey needed to be completed as fast as possible and a good distance needed to be covered. He wanted just a single competent runner but that just wasn't possible as he had many chameleons out on patrol and not all of the chameleons in the village trained in stealth and combat nearly as well as some of the others. So he was stuck with whoever he could find that was the most qualified.

A knock came at the door to his meeting room and he allowed the ones he had sent for to enter. It was the same three that had initially found Naruto. While he really only wanted one chameleon to send with the scroll, he had learned from past mistakes that he couldn't separate the three easily without causing chaos. He needed Hideki to be with the other two them for supervision whenever possible. Tsuno got into trouble at the drop of a hat if not watched and Hiryuu was easily swayed into going along with the mischief.

This meant that the person he should send was definitely Hiryuu but he absolutely knew that if he gave out the mission to Hiryuu, then Tsuno would sneak off to join in the mission so as to not be left out. It was a terribly frustrating situation which was why he didn't like those three. He had made mistakes in the past with them and he was determined to learn from those mistakes. Therefore, the best course of action was just to send all three.

Tokage began talking as soon as the three had come into the office. "Quite frankly, I dread the thought of just sending one of you alone while leaving the others here. So many thing would go wrong." he added while shaking his head.

"Don't you mean 'would _likely_ go wrong'?" asked Tsuno and Tokage's eyes narrowed on the horned chameleon.

"No, I meant what I said. You three have a penchant for causing trouble which is somewhat lessened when you are all together and Hideki is watching. Unfortunately, stealth is a priority on this mission as well as not getting caught and you three are the best in the village right now at both of those. You will be taking this summoning scroll to a certain location and then waiting there for the Stump Drum. Should it sound only once, then you three are to return. Should it sound twice, then you are to use the scroll and summon the boy." finished Tokage as he handed the scroll to Hideki and disregarded Tsuno's leg that was stretched out to accept the scroll.

"So where are we gonna take it?" asked Hiryuu as he wondered why the secrecy.

"You will taking this scroll to Mount Myoboku, specifically to the well there that is connected to Konoha." said Tokage and two of the three he was talking to nodded while the other just smiled.

x-x

Standing in front of the large castle, Naruto inspected it before entering. It was very traditional with a high stone and mortar foundation that the castle rested upon. It had numerous floors and he thought it might be difficult to find a single scroll in the large castle. He wasn't detecting chakra from inside the castle as it just seemed to be radiating off of the entire castle itself. It was almost like the castle was alive and he was merely looking at a creature that was henged into a castle, just as Tokage had said.

Walking up the steps to the large double door entrance, he was alert for any attack or indication that he was in danger. The most that he felt was that he was being watched. It was the exact feeling he had when going through the forest. He thought about using stealth and a technique or two to try and get inside but if the chameleons, who could go invisible and completely suppress their chakra as well as he could, were not able to get far inside then what chance did he have of sneaking in.

A direct approach was the best thing that he could come up with and he would pretend to just be a passerby and not try to take anything or provoke Shiromari in anyway. Hopefully this would buy him enough time to figure out where the scroll might be. He had no idea how quickly the chameleon would attack him after he entered. Would it be immediate or would the chameleon wait for a good moment or see what he was there fore? If the chameleon was acting on its most basic instincts then there was no telling what might happen.

Coming to the doors he reached forward to push them open but they opened on their own. Walking into the castle, he took in the large space he entered into and once he was beyond the entryway, the doors slammed shut of their own accord.

"Ooooh, automatic doors...fancy." Naruto said out loud and looked around to determine which way he should go.

There was a large wide staircase in front of him that lead to higher floors and then a few doors to one side and a hallway to the other with many doors down its length. 'Which way to go?' he wondered.

Please Review

AN: Yes I chose the chameleons for Naruto to encounter but you may be wondering about how Pein is able to summon one? Well my explanation is that, like the six paths of pein, the summons used are dead. They have been altered and have chakra rods in them just like the sixth paths. This allows Pein to summon them with the animal path like the other six paths. So the chameleon that was mentioned was killed and turned into one of the many summons that Pein has at his disposal, all of which are dead and from previous battles that nagato has been in. There are only a limited number of these 'reused' summoning animals and Pein can't summon anything else in that manner besides them and the giant statue. This summons also fits with Naruto's second name of Ryuuma which can mean 'dragon horse'. A chameleon perfectly fits with that and it kinda made sense to have them as Naruto's summons.

About the well: in case you may be wondering, the toads do have a well like this and it is connected to Konoha.


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